Hate crime reports

The City of Santa Ana is a diverse city whose residents represent various cultures, nationalities, races, religions, sexual orientations, political affiliations and physical disabilities. It is the combination of these different groups that make Santa Ana diverse and rich in cultures. We recognize that there are individuals and specific groups motivates by hate and are willing to act violently towards others based solely on these differences. These criminal acts, are referred to as hate crimes, affect not just individuals but our entire community.

It is our priority to serve the Santa Ana Community with the utmost professionalism, integrity, dignity, respect and transparency. We strive to build and sustain community trust with all members of our diverse community, with the purpose of creating an all-inclusive and collaborative public safety partnership.

The Santa Ana Police Department reports all hate crimes to both the California Department of Justice and the Orange County Human Relations Commission.

Hate crime or hate incident?

There is a difference between a hate crime and a hate incident as explained below:

A hate crime is a misdemeanor or felony criminal act committed against a person, group, or property that is motivated by hatred or intentional bias against the victim’s real or perceived protected identity characteristic. A perceived protected identity characteristic includes being regarded as, perceived as, or treated as having the protected characteristic, regardless of whether the perception is accurate. You may be a victim of a hate crime if you have been targeted because of your actual or perceived:

• Physical or mental disability
• Gender (which means sex, and includes gender identity and gender expression)
• Nationality
• Race or ethnicity
• Religion
• Sexual orientation
• Association with a person or group with one or more of these “actual” or “perceived” characteristics

Under civil law, there are additional protected identity characteristics not included here.

A victim includes, but is not limited to, a person, family, group, community center, educational facility, entity, office, meeting hall, place of worship, private institution, public agency, library, or other victim or intended victim of the offense.

A hate incident is an action or behavior motivated by hate or intentional bias toward a protected group that does not rise to the level of a crime. Freedom of speech under the U.S. and California Constitutions allows hateful rhetoric as long as it does not interfere with the civil rights of others. You should report hate incidents to your local law enforcement agency.

If a hate incident escalates to threats or criminal activity against a person or property, then it could be classified as a hate crime. You may also be entitled to civil relief if you are exposed to a hate incident.

Examples of hate incidents include:

• Name-calling, insults, slurs, derogatory comments, and epithets lodged at a protected group that do not threaten violence
• Displaying hateful materials on one’s own real property that do not threaten violence
• Wearing clothing with a hateful message that does not threaten violence
• Distribution of materials with hateful messages in public places that do not threaten violence

Reports

Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) is a nationwide, collective effort by law enforcement agencies to represent a standardized view of crime. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established the standards on how crimes should be categorized and counted. One of the components of the UCR program is the collection of Hate Crime information. Below are the recent filings submitted by the Santa Ana Police Department.

2025 Hate Crime Stats

• Contact 911 or go to a local hospital if you need immediate medical attention.
  • To file a report, contact your local law enforcement agency.
• CA vs. Hate Resource Line and Network is not a law enforcement reporting line but you can report hate crimes and incidents at:
  • Report hate crimes and incidents at: (833) 866-4283 or report on-line at https://stophate.calcivilrights.ca.gov/s/ 
• California Attorney General’s Office Victims’ Services Unit offers crime victims and their families support at every stage of the
  criminal process.
  • Call (877) 433-9069 or visit oag.ca.gov/hatecrimes
• California Civil Rights Department (CRD) the state agency charged with enforcing the Ralph Civil Rights Act. If you have been a victim of a hate crime or hate incident, you can file a complaint with CRD against the person who harmed you.
  • File a complaint, visit Calcivilrights.ca.gov/complaintprocess or call (800) 884-1684 (Toll Free) or (800) 700-2320 (TTY)
• Local District Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Assistance Center, each county and the City of Los Angeles has a Victim Witness Assistance Center that works directly with the California Victim Compensation Board to help victims.
  • Visit victims.ca.gov/victims/localhelp.aspx