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California commission urges permanent data infrastructure, law-enforcement training and community supports to curb rising hate
Summary
The California Commission on the State of Hate told the Assembly select committee that survey and law-enforcement data show far more Californians experience hate than official statistics capture, and offered interim recommendations including permanent data collection, required training and sustained community funding.
Professor Brian Levin, chair of the California Commission on the State of Hate, told the Assembly select committee the commission’s work combines academic research, a 20,000-household survey with UCLA and outreach to community organizations, and that its interim findings show far higher incidence of hate than law-enforcement reports indicate.
Levin said the commission’s CHIS‑based survey suggests roughly 2.6 million Californians experienced at least one act of hate in a one-year period and that about 525,000 of those experiences were potentially criminal (physical violence or property damage). He said that comparison shows well over a half-million more victims of violence or property damage than are recorded in law-enforcement statistics.
The commission offered 19 interim policy recommendations. Levin highlighted several priorities: create permanent statewide data infrastructure to measure both criminal and noncriminal hate incidents beyond law-enforcement reports; require routine hate-crimes training for law enforcement and close the gap in refresher training; increase investments in victim and community services, including nonprofit security grants, “California versus Hate” hotlines and Stop the Hate grants; and tailor K–12 prevention and public-messaging strategies that research shows can reduce hate incidents when political and community leaders speak with appropriate, de-escalating language.
Levin cited research connecting political rhetoric and spikes in hate incidents and described pilot efforts with POST (the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training) to develop training for officers. He said the commission will publish full reports and interim recommendations and invited the committee to request the documents.
The commission’s recommendations aim to increase reporting, improve investigator and prosecutor capacity, expand victim services and use evidence-based public messages to counter hate.
