LA County Hate Crimes Drop 6 Percent in 2012

The number of hate crimes in Los Angeles County dropped to the second-lowest level in 23 years last year but blacks remained the most frequent targets and there was troubling violence against homosexuals.

The county Commission on Human Relations says there were 462 reported hate crimes in 2012, down 6 percent from 2011.

Vandalism made up nearly a third of those crimes. About half of the hate crimes were race-based, with African-Americans the target in two-thirds of those. Hates crimes between blacks and Latinos increased.

Those based on sexual orientation also increased to 28 percent of all crimes - and they were more likely to be violent than crimes that were racially or religiously motivated.

Wednesday's report was based on information from law enforcement, school districts and community groups.