County of Los Angeles Commission on Human Relations

The Human Relations Commission of Los Angeles County continues to address the challenges of hate, bias, bullying, and bigotry with four programs that build community equity, inclusion, and healing. One such program, LA vs Hate, uses cultural art interventions through murals, performances, and social media to raise awareness of the dangers of normalizing hate, the importance of reporting hate acts through 211 LA, and building a network in all five districts to implement prevention strategies to stop future hate acts. Other programs led by the commission include Hate Documentation & Analytics, Training and Dialogue and Transformative Justice. In keeping with its historic role in the County of cultivating healthy relations by catalyzing human rights, the Human Relations Commission continues to use visual arts along with language-inclusive and culture-specific materials, performances, and practices to facilitate expression and engagement with marginalized and targeted populations.

Hate Crime Report

Since 1980, the LA County Commission on Human Relations has produced an annual Hate Crime Report. The hate documentation team collects and analyzes hate crime and hate incident reports from law enforcement agencies, K-12 schools, colleges/universities, and community-based organizations. The report data is instrumental in informing where challenges in human relations exist in Los Angeles County. Policymakers, government leaders, researchers, educators, and community groups use the data to inform what communities are targeted by hate and to create prevention initiatives and strategies.

Network Against Hate Crime

This countywide coalition of representatives of law enforcement agencies, civil and human relations organizations, educational institutions, faith communities, and social service and advocacy groups meet quarterly and coordinate their efforts to combat intolerance and hate crime.

The goal is to foster change in underlying attitudes and overt behavior that separate us, and that, left unchecked, can lead to hate acts, including hate crimes in their most extreme expressions.

Each year, we facilitate training for hundreds of professionals, practitioners, activists, and concerned constituents on multiple topics ranging from managing implicit bias, constructive responses to conflict, strengthening cultural competence, effective collaboration, and leadership and diversity to addressing systemic racism, engaging in constructive, candid conversations, assessing equity impact of policies and practices, leading organization culture change to advance equity, and coming together to stand against hate.

In addition, we bring people together across boundaries of difference with facilitated dialogue that is both honest and civil.

To learn more about available trainings email us at info@hrc.lacounty.gov.

We collaborate with law enforcement agencies and community partners to facilitate strong, healthy interactions with communities throughout the County. This collaboration includes working with them and community groups to maintain the peace so that groups have unhindered opportunities for public expression of their concerns and aims. We have helped to organize and conduct dialogues among law enforcement personnel and community members. We are supporting pilot project efforts to use facilitated mediation to settle disputes between police officers and community members. We are researching best practices regarding the cultivation of just, respectful police interactions with community members. Additionally, we are working with community and law enforcement stakeholders to bring about needed changes to increase the equity and fairness of policing policy and practice throughout Los Angeles County.