While hate crimes were up in the state, Stanislaus County was at a 10-year low
.JPG "Stanislaus County reported six hate crimes in 2024. Five were referred to the District Attorney’s Office and formally filed as hate crimes.")
Stanislaus County recorded its lowest number of reported hate crimes in a decade in 2024, according to data from the California Department of Justice. This is a decrease of 68% from the previous year.
The county reported six hate crimes in 2024. Five were referred to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office and formally filed as hate crimes. Three resulted in convictions, all through guilty pleas.
The incidents were evenly motivated by race or ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation. All were violent crimes and included verbal slurs and threatening or harassing communication. They occurred at a range of locations, such as residences, streets, parks, stores and a bar.
Hate crime cases can involve more than one victim — with one of the 2024 cases including two. Most of the reported incidents occurred in December.
The dataset, which dates back to 2001, shows that the lowest number of reported hate crimes in the county occurred in 2011 and 2013, with six incidents each year — a level matched again in 2024. The highest total was recorded in 2001, when 32 hate crimes were reported.
2025 data preview
Hate crime data for 2025 has not yet been released by the Department of Justice. However, District Attorney Jeff Laugero shared figures with The Bee showing that six reports were made, and four cases were received this year.
A single defendant can have multiple reports, which the DOJ counts individually, but these may be consolidated into one formal complaint. Four people were sentenced in 2025, though some of those cases originated in previous years.
Of the cases taken in or issued this year, three involved physical violence and two involved threats.
“Even though we have seen single-digit numbers in hate crime cases reported year to year, I can only be confident in those numbers if I am confident that these crimes are being reported,” Laugero said in a statement. “Our resolve and efforts to end hate-motivated crimes in our community has not wavered. My office has resources committed to the vigorous prosecution of hate-based crimes, but we can’t help if these cases are not reported.”
Unreliable data
Phyllis Gerstenfeld, a Stanislaus State University professor who studies hate crimes, said such data is notoriously unreliable due to underreporting and the many factors that influence whether incidents are reported.
While the data predates President Donald Trump’s second administration, Gerstenfeld said hate crimes targeting immigrants are likely underreported, as some immigrants may be reluctant to interact with law enforcement amid increased immigration enforcement.
Vulnerable communities may try to remain unnoticed, she said, and those who target them know that, too, making them more susceptible to victimization.
The Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office told The Bee in August that fears related to immigration enforcement have discouraged some victims from reporting crimes and seeking services in the county. Some victims’ abusers have threatened to report them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
According to hate crime prosecutor Deputy District Attorney Zynal Aziz, the lower numbers are likely due to a decline in reporting.
“Our local law enforcement agencies are trained to recognize and investigate hate crimes, and [each] understands and adheres to the protections that are in place to encourage victims, regardless of immigration status, to report crimes and cooperate with law enforcement,” said Laguero in a statement. He added that, in certain cases, victims of serious crimes may be eligible for U Nonimmigrant Status (U Visa) if they assist with an investigation or prosecution. The program is designed both to protect vulnerable victims and to help law enforcement pursue and prosecute crimes.
Gerstenfeld said because the number of reported hate crimes in Stanislaus County is so small, it’s hard to conclude anything. Generally, she added that it is difficult to determine whether hate crimes are increasing or decreasing, or whether the changes reflect how comfortable people are with reporting them.
“It can be really difficult to tell how accurately those reports reflect what’s really going on in the real world,” Gerstenfeld said.
Reporting also can vary by law enforcement agency, she said. Some agencies prioritize hate crimes and provide officers with specialized training, which can result in higher reported numbers in their jurisdictions. Ultimately, law enforcement determines whether an incident is classified as a hate crime and gets entered into the database. And most of that stems from the perpetrator’s motive, which sometimes can be hard to establish, Gerstenfeld said.
She added that it is relatively rare for cases to be filed and prosecuted as hate crimes. Prosecutors often have limited experience handling such cases and may be reluctant to pursue them because they are difficult to prove.
“We know a pretty low percent ever get reported to police, and then an even lower percent get recorded as hate crimes by the police, and then a much lower percent get prosecuted,” Gerstenfeld said.
The Stanislaus County DA’s Office partners with a hate crimes expert affiliated with Stanislaus State University to help identify hate-motivated cases to ensure they are identified and charged appropriately. The office also has an experienced Victim Services Unit to connect crime victims with services and resources.
Laguero said his office has been making an effort to do community outreach to build trust, so people feel comfortable turning to law enforcement.
Statewide trends
Across California, most hate crimes reported in 2024 were motivated by race or ethnicity.
Statewide data shows that hate crimes targeting people based on religion and gender identity have more than tripled over the past decade.
Of the 818 hate crime cases referred in California, only 8.4% resulted in hate crime convictions in 2024.
To report a hate crime
Report the crime to your state or local police. If it’s an emergency, dial 911; otherwise, call the appropriate law enforcement agency. Police officers may reach out to you for more information as they investigate the crime.
Quickly follow up your report by reporting the crime to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. You can report a hate crime to the FBI online at tips.FBI.gov. Follow the instructions on the pop-ups and fill out the online form to report a hate crime. By phone, call the FBI at 800-225-5324. You can also reach out to your local FBI field office. Find the phone number for the FBI field office closest to you at www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices.
This story was originally published December 30, 2025 at 12:16 PM.
