The number of hate crimes referred for prosecution -- about a third of total reported hate crimes -- also rose slightly from 2022 to 2023. For hate crimes targeting the LGBTQ+ community at large, there was an 86 percent increase -- nearly double from 2022.
Equality California, a statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, blamed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and rhetoric at home and across the country for the spike in violence and harassment.
Equality California Executive Director Tony Hoang said: "These statistics aren't a surprise. Hate does not happen in a vacuum.”
Meanwhile, anti-Jewish hate crime events increased by nearly 53 percent and anti-Islamic events increased by 60 percent.
Hate crimes based on race -- including anti-Black, anti-Hispanic or Latino, anti-white and anti-Asian events -- decreased across every racial group from 2022 to 2023.
Bonta said despite the overall decrease in reported hate crimes, he said the spike in threats against LGBTQ+, Jewish and Muslim communities was alarming.
Bonta added that hate crimes are historically underreported, and that dozens of police agencies throughout the state failed to report the full year of hate crime data due to system management errors or staffing shortages.