A report released by the California Department of Justice found that hate crimes increased by 11.2 percent between 2015 and 2016, from 837 to 931. Perhaps this report should come as no surprise, given it spanned a year with one of the highest levels of racial discontent since the 1992 Rodney King riots and a presidential candidate who routinely excoriated Mexican immigrants. Racially motivated hate crimes accounted for 55.9 percent of all hate crimes statewide: 48.4 percent were against African Americans, 16 percent were anti-Latino or Hispanic, and 10.8 percent were antiwhite. A fifth involved the victims’ sexual orientation. (Nationwide, another report shows a 67 percent increase in hate crimes against Muslims.)
The report tracked two hate crimes in Santa Barbara County: One was racially motivated, the other homophobic.
However, the Santa Barbara Police Department also recorded three hate crimes in 2016 that were not included in the report. All were assaults on men perceived to be gay and took place near State Street in the late afternoon, between June and October. Notably, hate crimes against gay males increased statewide by 40.7 percent that year.