San Diego authorities have set up a fund to raise money to reward calls for hate crimes, a category of crime that has been on the rise in recent years.
Under a reward program overseen by San Diego County Crime Stoppers, the gratuity that leads to the arrest of individuals accused of hate crimes will increase from $1,000 to $2,000. San Diego Police say the change was made in response to a recent increase in such crimes.
The creation of the fund, which has already received more than $18,000 in donations, was led by San Diego City and County Commissioner Nicole Murray-Ramirez, who also chairs the San Diego GLBTQ History Task Force.
“Today, we send a strong message to those who consider committing hate crimes in San Diego County,” Nicole Murray-Ramirez said in a statement. “If you commit a hate crime, you get a $2,000 reward if you get caught.”
A recent analysis of crime data released by the San Diego Association of Governments found that while overall crime in San Diego County decreased last year, hate crimes reported in the area increased by 39 percent over the same period.
Last year, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted 30 hate crime cases. Twenty of those attacks were racially-based, and seven of those targeted the LGBTQ+ community.
Police officials also announced Monday the creation of a new hate crimes unit to centralize the investigation of such crimes. Previously, various divisions within the agency investigated hate crimes in each jurisdiction.
“Hate crimes have a profound impact on our communities, with lasting physical and mental effects that we all feel,” Police Chief Scott Wall said in a statement. “There is,” he said. “Public safety is a shared mission, and we can’t do it alone. These tools will not only help solve hate crimes, they will also help stop them in real ways. .”
Officials said there have been several recent cases eligible for bounty payments from the fund.
• On September 10, an unidentified man, believed to be around 60 years old, approached a Hispanic woman in Alcazar Gardens in Balboa Park, told her she “didn’t belong here” and made derogatory comments about her race. He brandished his cane. There are no injuries.
• On September 8, three people were hit in the head and face by projectiles fired from a gel pellet gun from inside a passing vehicle on University Street near 7th Street in Hillcrest.
• On Aug. 4, an unidentified woman approached an elderly Hispanic man on El Cajon Boulevard near 63rd Street in the College Area, made derogatory comments about his race and punched him in the head multiple times.
• On May 18, an employee outside Rich’s, a gay bar on University Avenue in Hillcrest, was struck in the eye by a gel pellet fired from a passing vehicle and suffered injuries that required surgery.
Anyone with information about the incident or other hate-related crimes is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or sdcrimestoppers.org.
Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.
First Published: October 8, 2024 at 3:50 p.m.
