[Read: An Incomplete Picture: Tackling Hate Crimes in Orange County<\/a>]<\/p>\n In the opening of their 2024 report, county staff noted their work \u201cdoes not encompass all hate activity in OC as there is underreporting of both hate crimes and hate incidents,\u201d and noted a 2024 survey estimated approximately 1 in 10 county residents experienced an act of hate that year.<\/p>\n To view a copy of the report, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDue to the underreporting, anonymity in reporting, and multiple agencies that collect information with different definitions of hate incidents, hate incidents are not included in this report,\u201d staff wrote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The report was quietly released at the end of last year.<\/p>\n Michael Kent, a OC Human Relations Commissioner and Irvine Police Chief, said there is underreporting when it comes to hate crimes and more trust needs to be fostered between law enforcement agencies and residents to ensure more people report such crimes.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s just so much happening in the state, in the country, in the world, and the numbers are not accurately depicting what\u2019s truly happening, and it\u2019s no fault to those that are collecting the data. I mean, that\u2019s just what\u2019s being reported,\u201d he said at the commission\u2019s November meeting.<\/p>\n It comes amid a federal immigration crackdown that some local leaders and activists say have relied on racial profiling tactics.<\/p>\n Kent said he is curious to see how many reports of hate crimes will be related to immigration enforcement experienced last year.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve heard reports of hate crimes or hate incidents involving federal agents and how the victims are being profiled or stopped just because of the way they look, or how well they speak English so that that is something I\u2019m trying to track internally, even though it\u2019s a little bit challenging,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He added that local law enforcement does not enforce immigration laws.<\/p>\n County Supervisor Doug Chaffee, who was just renamed chair of the board, said he wants to expand the size of the OC Human Relations Commission and restore its ability to speak in a Wednesday interview.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf I have a chance I\u2019ll see if I can maybe do something before the year is out to get the size back up,\u201d Chaffee said. \u201cI think they should also have the right to speak publicly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n But when asked about reporting hate incidents, Chaffee said it was a complicated issue, and that he wanted to ensure the county was in line with state laws on reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt starts with the incidents being reported, and if there are incidents that are not reported, then we can\u2019t consider whether it is a hate crime,\u201d Chaffee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Supervisor Katrina Foley also said the county needs to reimplement its hate incident tracking in a Thursday statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe county needs a more credible system for tracking hate incidents, built with a standardized definition of what classifies as a hate incident,\u201d Foley wrote. \u201cWhile the county maintains a hate crime tracking system, many hate incidents remain underreported due to inconsistent reporting structures.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n County Supervisors Don Wagner and Janet Nguyen declined to comment on the report, while Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n The 2024 report exclusively focused on hate crimes, and noted that despite police reporting of 119 hate crime events in Orange County in 2024, county prosecutors only filed charges in ten cases according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n The report defined hate crime events as \u201can occurrence where a hate crime is involved and the information about the event is in a crime report or source document that meets the criteria for a hate crime and has been reported to the DOJ.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The District Attorney\u2019s office only reviewed 33 cases for possible filing, 12 of which were rejected entirely while another four were rejected but saw the defendant charged with other criminal charges according to the report.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs the elected District Attorney of Orange County, I don\u2019t care who you love, but I care who you hate,\u201d wrote District Attorney Todd Spitzer in the report. \u201cI have \u2013 and will continue to \u2013 prosecute hate crimes to the fullest extent and send an unequivocal message to haters that hate will not be tolerated here \u2013 or anywhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for Spitzer, said the reason for the gap in hate crime events and charged hate crimes is that not every one of those events meets the criteria to get charged.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNot every hate-related event meets the legal definition of a hate crime and unfortunately not every hate-related event is reported to law enforcement so that it can be investigated and those that meet the elements of a crime, prosecuted,\u201d Edds wrote in a Wednesday statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spitzer\u2019s office received a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, which they are using to create hate incidents and hate crime reporting and data tracking portal online.<\/p>\n According to a District Attorney\u2019s office memo to the Human Relations Commission last November, the portal is expected to go live in early 2026.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0A4A8209.jpg\")
Federal Law enforcement guards an entrance where immigration enforcement drives in with vans to the ICE processing facility on Monday, June 9, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screen-Shot-2025-06-11-at-4.10.43-PM.png\")
Orange County Board of Supervisors meeting on Jan. 28, 2025 in Santa Ana. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC <\/p>\n