Data from the San Francisco Police Department shows that reported anti-Asian hate crimes increased 567 percent over the past year in San Francisco, The Hill reports.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Police Chief Bill Scott discussed the preliminary data in a press conference on Tuesday.
The data found that the number of Asian hate crime victims increased from 9 in 2020 to 60 victims in 2021, CBS San Francisco reports.
Scott said the police believe that one man is responsible for more than half the incidents last year, The Washington Post reports. The man was arrested in August.
Mayor Breed also acknowledged that the numbers only reflect reported hate crimes.
“That’s only people that are reporting those crimes. I know that there are a number of people that are not reporting those crimes,” Breed said, according to CBS San Francisco. “We want to make sure people feel safe, we want to make sure people are comfortable with reporting.”
Breed also expressed her anger at the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes.
“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 said, according to The Hill.
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