Santa Cruz Police Statement On Recent Hate Crime Reports

Press release from the City of Santa Cruz:

July 14, 2020

SANTA CRUZ, CA – This week, Santa Cruz Police has fielded many questions and concerns from members of our community surrounding the recent publicized events in our city. Hate crimes have consequences far beyond the criminal act itself. These offenses not only cause lasting trauma to the victims, but they also impact our community with fear and exclusion. All hate crimes are serious incidents and are treated as such by the Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD).

To maintain transparency, we provide the following update for the public.

Four hate crimes have been reported this year. Two cases, which occurred on June 28, 2020 and July 5, 2020, have met the legal standard of being a "hate crime." Detectives are working with the District Attorney's Office in pursuing charges against the defendants. One of these cases was also forwarded to the FBI for review.

Two cases are still under investigation. These two cases involve unsettling name-calling and insults, but the individuals involved have elected not to press charges.

The Santa Cruz Police Department is committed to building the community's trust and deploying the resources and taking enforcement action to prevent, identify, and arrest hate crime perpetrators.

In comparing the last three years of cases surrounding hate crime allegations, Santa Cruz Police received:

• 10 reports for 2018,
• Two reports for 2019,
• Four reports for 2020.

Recognizing these crimes are often under-reported, the Santa Cruz Police Department follows a model policy were we accept and review all bias-related reported crimes.

This press release was produced by the City of Santa Cruz. The views expressed here are the author’s own.