LOS ANGELES, July 4, (Xinhua) -- An annual report issued by the Californian Department of Justice on Monday indicted that the state in western U.S. saw 11.2 percent spiking in total hate crime last year, a second consecutive double-digit increase.
There were more hate crimes committed in 2016 against people based on victims' race or ethnicity than any other group, the report said, emphasizing that blacks, Jews and gay were among the most frequent targets.
There were 931 reported incidents in 2016. Even though the number was still a third lower than a decade ago, but it jumped up from 837 in 2015.
Sacramento Bee newspaper said some civic groups believed that President Donald Trump's candidacy and his inflammatory words against Muslim and immigrants were behind the increase.
Meanwhile, other law experts argued that the hate crime's recovery was due to more people reporting the incident.
State Attorney General Xavier Becerra said the report was consistent with findings of an increase in national hate crimes motivated by biases against racial minorities, Muslims, people with disabilities, women, immigrants and the LGBTQ community.
"When someone commits a crime motivated by hate, it is not just an attack on one innocent person, but an attack on the entire state and our communities," Becerra said in a statement.
