Anti-Asian hate crime reports up 567 percent in San Francisco

Preliminary data from the San Francisco police department indicated that the number of people who reported being the victim of a hate crime against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the last year was up by 567 percent.

Last year, there were 60 anti-AAPI compared to eight in 2019 and nine in 2020, according to data from the police.

On Tuesday at a press conference, San Francisco's police chief, Bill Scott, said one man, whom he did not name, was arrested in August and thought to be responsible for half of the incidents, The Washington Post reported.

"If anybody thinks that San Francisco is an easy place to come in and terrorize our Asian communities, you are sadly mistaken - and you will be held accountable," Scott said, noting that law enforcement would be present at public Lunar New Year celebrations set to begin next week.

"We will do everything we can to make those arrests, to hold perpetrators accountable," San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) also said Tuesday, according to the Post.

"I'm angry about the violence that has continued to impact many of the people who are part of our Asian community but especially our seniors," she added.

The report also noted that anti-Black hate crimes were up 27 percent in the last year, anti-LGBTQ+ crimes were up by 50 percent, and crimes against Jewish people increased by 60 percent in the last year.

It also noted a slightly downward trend in reports of hate crimes against Arabs or Muslims and Latinos.

Last month, data from the New York Police Department showed that anti-Asian hate crimes in the city also increased from 28 in 2020 to 129 thus far in 2021, an uptick of 361 percent.