San Francisco reports anti-asian hate crimes jumped 567% in 2021

San Francisco officials have pledged to better protect Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

Preliminary data from the San Francisco police department has shown that the number of reported victims of anti-AAPI hate crimes in the last year increased by 567% when compared to the previous year.

According to the Washington Post, there were eight reported anti-AAPI hate crimes in 2019 and nine in 2020. In 2021 there were 60. Bill Scott, San Francisco’s police chief, announced in a news conference on Tuesday that one man was believe to be responsible for half of the reported incidents in 2021,

San Francisco Mayor London Breed (D) said Tuesday, “We will do everything we can to make those arrests, to hold perpetrators accountable. 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.”

Anti-Asian hate crimes saw the most dramatic increase when compared to last year, reports show. The city even recorded a decline in anti-Muslim, Latino, and Jewish hate crimes.

The increase in hate-crime reports has come with a consistent rise in hate crimes across the United States. Experts attribute this rise to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center conducted in April 2021, 81% of Asian American adults reported violence increasing against them. California specifically is home to four of five cities with the largest Asian Americans population in the United States.