SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – The San Francisco Police Department is responding to an increase in crimes against Asian Americans by stepping up foot patrols.
In a tweet Wednesday, police said:
We are coordinating with our federal partners and local AAPI community organizations and stepping up our patrols in predominantly Asian neighborhoods. As you may know, the San Francisco Bay Area has been seeing an alarming spike in brazen anti-Asian violence in recent weeks.
San Francisco police department
A rash of crimes victimizing elderly Asian Americans in the past few months has renewed outcry for more attention from politicians and the media.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on legislation allocating $1.4 million to Stop AAPI Hate and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
The funding will go toward community resources and further tracking of anti-Asian hate incidents.
Local officials and citizens have also taken notice. Initiatives like increased police presence, volunteer patrols and special crime hotlines are coming to fruition. Big-name brands like the Golden State Warriors and Apple, based in the Bay Area, have promised to donate to the cause.
More than 3,000 incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based reporting center for Asian American Pacific Islanders, and its partner advocacy groups since mid-March 2020.
The encounters don’t often rise to the legal definition of a hate crime.
Still, police in several major cities saw a sharp uptick in Asian-targeted hate crimes between 2019 and 2020, according to data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, California State University, San Bernardino.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.