In the area that includes Glendale, La Crescenta, La Cañada Flintridge and Burbank, there were 12 hate crimes last year. That was a steep drop from the 31 that occurred in 2007, a 61% decrease, said Marshall Wong, who helped author the commission’s report.
Race-based hate crimes in Glendale dropped from 25 in 2007 to seven last year. Sexual orientation and disability-based hate crimes also decreased, he said.
Hate-related aggravated assaults dropped from 13 in 2007 to zero in 2008, Wong said.
In Glendale, the race most discriminated against were Jews last year, with Armenians not far behind, with four and three hate crimes suffered, respectively.
The greatest percentage of religious hate crimes were vandalism, followed by intimidation. Most religious hate crimes occurred at homes and religious sites.
The only hate crime reported in 2008 in Glendale was tagging that was spray painted onto St. Peter Armenian Church, Sgt. Tim Feeley said.
A 2-foot-by-2-foot crescent and star was spray-painted on a wall outside the church, which police said was meant to intimidate Armenians by invoking the Turkish flag.
The modern Republic of Turkey has refused to recognize the Armenian Genocide in which 1.5 million Armenians were killed between 1915 and 1918 at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
Overall, hate crimes decreased in Glendale, from eight in 2007 to one in 2008.
“These types of crimes are so personal,” Feeley said.
The city doesn’t have any known hate groups that target residents based on their race, gender sexual orientation or religion, he said.
