Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) questioned witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Combating the Rise in Hate Crimes.” Padilla heard testimony from Los Angeles Police Department’s Hate Crimes Task Force Coordinator, Detective Orlando Martinez and Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker on the concerning rise in hate crimes in the country. He also addressed the need for stronger hate crime reporting laws to effectively identify, investigate, and account for hate crimes.

California is currently experiencing the highest number of hate crimes in a decade with over 1,300 incidents in 2020 alone, a 30 percent increase from the previous year. In 2020, anti-Asian hate crimes increased by 107 percent as compared to 2019, accounting for the highest increase in any demographic in the state. Additionally, FBI data shows that criminal incidents targeting the Jewish community account for over half of all religious-based crimes and California has seen a 40 percent increase in anti-Semitic incidents over the last five years.

Last year, Padilla voted to pass the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act and joined Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) in introducing a resolution to condemn all forms of anti-Asian sentiment, racism, and discrimination. Padilla previously questioned FBI Director Christopher Wray on the January 6th Capitol attack, hate crimes, and domestic terrorism during a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing.

Key Excerpts:

• PADILLA: Sadly, in California we’ve witnessed a 40% increase in anti-semitic incidents over the last five years. And when considering that a good amount of hate crime data is not even reported at all, it’s clear that there’s work to be done so that all people feel comfortable and safe in their communities. […] So Rabbi, what unique message might you have for victims of hate crimes?

CYTRON-WALKER: I would say that mental health resources are vital. This is something that I’ve taught about, preached about. We know that mental health is a huge issue. And people need to know and need to be encouraged from law enforcement, to the victims of crimes, to the fact that in this instance, that means go back before Colleyville, when Tree of Life happened. When the shooting at Tree of Life took place, all of us were impacted.

• PADILLA: California is one of 26 states that requires the collection of hate crime data by way of mandatory reporting from law enforcement. However, 20 states currently have no law requiring law enforcement to collect and report hate crime data, leaving the option–emphasis on option–to submit data to FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program completely voluntary. […] Detective Martinez, welcome. As the Hate Crimes Task Force coordinator for LAPD you’re directly involved in assessing how useful the collection of data can be when combating hate crimes. So understanding the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was a helpful step towards addressing hate crimes. What additional steps would you urge Congress to take to incentivize reporting from state and local law enforcement?

MARTINEZ: Thank you, Senator. I keep going back to encouraging the training. There’s just so many things that I’m fortunate to have that smaller agencies don’t. Most folks don’t realize that we don’t report hate crimes. The hate crime law is a misdemeanor punishable by one year and up to $5,000. What we do is another 99% of the time it’s another criminal offense that can be–that has a bias motivated motivation to it.

Full transcript is available below:

PADILLA: Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Colleagues, just continuing on some of the themes that have been explored throughout the morning, also to recognize that FBI data shows that criminal incidents targeting the Jewish community account for over half of all religious based crimes. Sadly, in California we’ve witnessed a 40% increase in anti-semitic incidents over the last five years. And when considering that a good amount of hate crime data is not even reported at all, it’s clear that there’s work to be done so that all people feel comfortable and safe in their communities.

My first question is for the rabbi, earlier in the hearing, you provided sort of a message to not just the Jewish community but others who may feel targeted by hate crimes. But as important as that is, we don’t always necessarily hear from actual victims of incidents, what effect that hate crime has had on them emotionally, psychologically, folks, their loved ones, others in their network and their daily lives. So Rabbi, what unique message might you have for victims of hate crimes? Maybe an encouragement of what and how to share their stories and their experiences for others to learn from and to the extent that you’re comfortable–you shared a lot since that day through press and elsewhere, but if there’s anything else that you think is worth sharing with the committee as we’re digesting this.

CYTRON-WALKER: I would say that mental health resources are vital. This is something that I’ve taught about, preached about. We know that mental health is a huge issue. And people need to know and need to be encouraged from law enforcement, to the victims of crimes, to the fact that in this instance, that means go back before Colleyville, when Tree of Life happened. When the shooting at Tree of Life took place, all of us were impacted. All Jews, and I think that so many more people were impacted in the same way that so many other horrible things that have happened. Especially when it comes to hate crimes. Go far beyond just that moment, just that community, or just those the individuals who are in the room. That’s the damage of hate crimes. That was mentioned previously by another panelist. The idea though, of getting mental health resources is probably the most important, and knowing that there almost always could be more.

I spoke with the 911 operator, and I encouraged her to see a therapist. I’ve talked with police, the local police chiefs, in our community, encouraging them to make sure that—this was traumatic for all of us—and we need those resources and we need to take advantage of those opportunities. Our mental health is one of the most important ways—caring for our mental health is the most important way to do so—o help with that, to help those who have experienced trauma, whether they were in the room or not.

PADILLA: I appreciate you recognizing that, as victims of other crimes, hate crimes, and otherwise have come to learn, it’s okay to not feel okay and to talk about it.

On a different topic and our time is limited here but, a question on the importance of data collection. California is one of 26 states that requires the collection of hate crime data by way of mandatory reporting from law enforcement. However, 20 states currently have no law requiring law enforcement to collect and report hate crime data, leaving the option–emphasis on option–to submit data to FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program completely voluntary. Now federal law enforcement agencies use the Uniform Crime Reporting Program to collect crime statistics, but given the variation in hate crime laws across the country, it’s easy to understand how it could be difficult to ascertain when hate crimes have occurred and difficult to develop holistic responses that address their underlying causes.

Detective Martinez, welcome.

As the Hate Crimes Task Force coordinator for LAPD you’re directly involved in assessing how useful the collection of data can be when combating hate crimes. So understanding the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was a helpful step towards addressing hate crimes. What additional steps would you urge Congress to take to incentivize reporting from state and local law enforcement?

MARTINEZ: Thank you, Senator. I keep going back to encouraging the training. There’s just so many things that I’m fortunate to have that smaller agencies don’t. Most folks don’t realize that we don’t report hate crimes.

The hate crime law is a misdemeanor punishable by one year and up to $5,000. What we do is another 99% of the time it’s another criminal offense that can be–that has a bias motivated motivation to it. So when you have the UCR coding, they just have to enter a code to make that bias motivated, this other aggravated assault, simple assault. Tying—somebody else had mentioned that—tying funds or for training, for programs, to their reporting is always a good incentive. It won’t guarantee anything, but you have to have some type of enforcement arm because if you don’t have a buy-in from the head of the agency, like I have from my chief, it’s not going to trickle down and that’s why you have zeros, statistically improbable that these locations with millions or hundreds of thousands of residents have zero hate crimes year after year after year. And yet that’s what’s been reported.

PADILLA: Thank you for that. Now I’ll just add that those who are selecting and hiring chiefs of police, sheriffs, etc., across the country, whether or not elected, talking about sheriffs specifically, whether it’s mayor’s councils, etc. Elevating the importance of mandating hate crime reporting, so that they take that into consideration and whether it’s personnel evaluations and hiring to begin with of leaders of law enforcement agencies, so a lot of work that remains to be done here.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

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