Hate crimes in Los Angeles County rose in 2017 compared to 2016, report finds

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Hate crimes rose 5 percent last year compared to 2016, according to a new report released Thursday by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.

The level of hate crimes in the county has risen over the last four years, with 508 reported last year. Half of those reported crimes were racially motivated, the report stated.

Crimes against black people rose 15 percent last year, and crimes against Hispanics rose for the third straight year.

Hate crimes against LGBT groups are down 2 percent but still account for 21 percent of all the hate crimes.

For the second year in a row, a record number of anti-transgender crimes were reported, the report found. Also, 94 percent of those crimes were violent in nature.

There were 101 crimes related to religion, which is the same number as the previous year. These crimes made up 20 percent of all hate crimes, and 72 percent were anti-Jewish.

All of the hate crimes in the report occurred across Los Angeles County, but the largest number took place in the San Fernando Valley, followed by the region that stretches from West Hollywood to Boyle Heights.

You can read the full report here.