There were 20 reports of hate crimes committed during 2010 because of the victim’s sexual orientation, an increase of only three from the previous year, according to the San Diego Police Department’s annual crime statistics report which was heard by a City Council committee on Feb. 16.
There were only 17 such crimes in 2009, but that is not much of a statistical difference. In years past, the numbers were higher.
There were 21 hate crimes linked to the victim’s ethnicity out of a total of 49 incidents in 2010. The only category left were hate crimes due to a victim’s religion, and that consisted of eight incidents. In 2009, there were 47 hate crimes reported.
The startling statistic, though, was the huge drop in murders. There were only 29 murders in city limits in 2010, down from 41 murders in 2009. In the 1980s, there were some years in which murders exceeded 150 a year.
The 2010 crime rates are the lowest since 1963, and the overall number of crimes was the lowest in 41 years, according to the report submitted to the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee.
“Hats off to the San Diego Police Department,” said committee chairman Todd Gloria, who also serves as a City Councilman for District 3. “They’re doing a phenomenal job.”
