Don't be the next victim! Learn what you can do to protect yourself and what we are doing to make San Diego a safer place.

The Center is an active member of the San Diego Hate Crimes Coalition and works closely with the San Diego Police Department in order to exchange information, arrange informational meetings for local business owners and work together to find solutions for making San Diego a safer place. In response to the increase in hate crimes, The Center's Public Policy Department helped to organize a hate crime awareness rally and march through Hillcrest in late September 2002. Since then, we have participated in safety classes and meetings for local businesses, contacted local cab companies to ask that they be more accessible to our community and have passed out safety fliers on the street and to many local businesses. The Public Policy Department also maintains a hate incident and hate crime log and encourages anyone who has experienced or witnessed hate speech or violence to report these incidents first to the police and then to The Center at (619) 692-2077 x 111. Download the Hate Crimes and Incidents Report Form to have available at your business.

• Hate Crimes and Incidents Report Form in PDF format.
  

Click here for the most recent hate crimes statistics from the FBI.

According to the San Diego Regional Hate Crimes Procedural Manual for Law Enforcement Officers, hate crimes and hate incidents are defined as follows: Hate Crime: Any criminal act or attempted criminal act, motivated, in whole or part, by the victim's actual or perceived race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender*, sexual orientation, or physical or mental disability. Hate Incident: A non-criminal act motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a person because of his or her race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender*, disability or sexual orientation. *For these purposes, gender is defined as a person's actual or perceived sex, and includes a person's identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that identity, appearance or behavior is different from that traditionally associated with the person's sex at birth. What you need to know about hate speech, hate incidents and hate crimes: Why isn't hate speech a criminal act?

• The First Amendment of the United States Constitution provides protections for freedom of speech and freedom of expression, regardless of how offensive or derogatory that speech or expression may be. This includes hate speech, the dissemination hate flyers and web content. However, if this speech threatens violence to a specific person or group, it may then be considered a crime. An example of this would be "fighting words," which includes comments that inflict injury or may incite violence.
• To learn more about the relationship between the First Amendment and hate speech please visit the ADL's FAQ page.

• We must report hate incidents - even though they are not criminal acts.
• You never know when the offender may escalate to committing hate crimes and the more information and evidence we have, the better.
• If hate speech, leafleting or other hate related activities are occurring in specific areas, law enforcement agencies need to be aware of it.
• Reporting has important educational and statistical factors

• The importance lies in that the offender perceives the victim to be a member of a particular group (e.g., transgender, Asian, etc.). It does not matter if the victim actually is a member of the targeted group.

• In order for hate crime enhancements to be charged, bias must be a substantial factor.
• Bias may be determined by the offender's language during the crime, knowledge of prior bias-related incidents by the offender, or other related factors.

To read specific California Penal, Civil and Education Codes that protect against hate and bias, please visit the Partner's Against Hate web site.

For more information on Hate Crimes, contact Caroline Dessert, Public Affairs & Community Organizing Coordinator, (619) 692-2077 x 111 or e-mail: cdessert@thecentersd.org.

Safety Tips Avoid walking alone Walk confidently Stay in well lit areas Keep car locked at all times - even while driving Avoid drunk behaviors Do not respond to verbal taunts Avoid driveways, alleys and bushes Have car keys out and ready Make sure your friends have a ride home Do not leave intoxicated friends alone at a bar or outside Report any and all suspicious behavior Download our flier with safety tips and contact information here. Please feel free to make copies of this flier for distribution at your place of business. Hate Crimes Awareness Flier in PDF format.

Remember that ALL cab drivers must obey Ordinance 11 Section 2.4 (d) of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit Development Board and therefore cannot refuse a prospective customer based on the length of the trip.

Resources and Contact Information Emergency: dial 911 San Diego Police Non-emergencies (619) 531-2000 Hillcrest Police Storefront (619) 299-7028 SD County Sheriff non-emergency (858) 565-5200 Chula Vista Police (619) 691-5151 Coronado Police (619) 522-7350 Del Mar/Encinitas/Solana Beach Sheriff (760) 966-3500 (858) 565-5200 El Cajon Police (619) 579-3311 Imperial Beach Sheriff (619) 498-2400 La Mesa Police (619) 469-6111 Lemon Grove Sheriff (619) 337-2000 National City Police (619) 336-4411 Poway Sheriff (858) 513-2800 Santee Sheriff (858) 565-5200 The Center's Public Policy Department (619) 692-2077 x 111 San Diego Human Relations Commission: (619) 236-6420 Hate Crime Victim Assistance Program (619) 293-3770

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