A CLOSER LOOK -- More than an act of vandalism

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- The spray-painted swastikas and lightning bolts on

Yellowstone Women’s Recovery Homes have been sandblasted. A fresh coat of

paint has cleaned the tainted outer walls of the building. Slashed car

tires have been replaced.

But the fear remains, said Honey Thames, director of the two homes for

recovering alcoholics or drug addicts, which were victimized by hate

vandalism Oct. 29.

And that was likely the point of the crime, said Orange County Deputy

Dist. Atty Mike Fell, who exclusively prosecutes hate crimes. To spread

fear is often the motive behind such racially motivated incidents, he

said.

“That’s the message they want to send out to their victims,” he said.

“That ‘we want you out of here’ and ‘you’re not good enough to live in

our community.”’

Such incidents, however, are few and far between in Costa Mesa and

Newport Beach, said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Orange

County Human Relations Commission.

The commission defines hate crimes as “any criminal or attempted act

which is motivated by the victim’s race, ethnicity, religion, sexual

orientation, gender or disability status.”

Examples of hate crimes include scrawling racist graffiti on someone’s

property; burning a cross on someone’s lawn; or beating someone, using

force or threatening to use force to injure, and intimidating or

interfering with a person because of his or her race, ethnic group,

religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability status.

A changing face in the cities

Kennedy said hate crimes have been declining countywide over the last

few years. Numbers fell from 169 incidents in 1998 to 136 in 1999, he

said.

However, communities such as Costa Mesa and Newport Beach are affected

from time to time because they are undergoing demographic changes,

Kennedy said.

“For example, there is a rapid growth of Latinos in Costa Mesa,” he

said. “The housing market is getting tight. People are getting crammed in

smaller spaces. All those factors contribute to tension, stress and

conflict.”

Costa Mesa’s West Side experienced some of that resentment when a

granite sign on Victoria Street that welcomes visitors into the area was

defaced last November with a derogatory comment about Latinos.

Officials said then that the act might have been motivated by fear or

anxiety about the growing population of Latinos in the community.

California laws are constantly changing to counter hate crimes better,

Fell said. Punishment can also be more severe for such crimes.

For instance, a person who causes less than $400 worth of property

damage would get a year in jail, pay a $5,000 fine and be forced to spend

up to 400 hours of community service if the reason for vandalism is hate.

Otherwise, the punishment might be just six months in jail, a $1,000 fine

and no mandatory community service.

In more serious offenses where hatred results in injury to the

victims, a misdemeanor can be bumped up to a felony if the assailant has

a prior record. For example, his jail sentence could increase by three

years and by one additional year for every prior hate crime.

Fell added that whatever the crimes, victims might feel the effects of

such assaults at an emotional and psychological level. The county offers

counselors and other forms of support.

“It’s a scary thing out there,” Fell said.

Prepared for the sporadic crime

Both Costa Mesa and Newport Beach police officials said they train

officers to deal with hate crimes.

The Costa Mesa Police Department sends its officers to a mandatory

training session at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, Police Chief

David Snowden said.

“We do everything we can through our Citizens’ Academy to educate and

create awareness about the issue as well,” he said.

In the Newport Beach Police Department, officers undergo “regular and

ongoing training,” Lt. Mike Hyams said.

“This city is very fortunate that those incidents are rare,” he said.

Hyams said recent vandalism at Big Canyon Country Club, where

swastikas and lewd drawings destroyed three golf greens, did not show any

evidence of a crime motivated by hate.

“We don’t have any lead on that one,” he said. “For now, we’re

treating it as vandalism.”

Meanwhile in Costa Mesa, community support has been overwhelming for

Yellowstone Homes, Thames said.

“Our neighbors have been great,” she said. Hard as it may be for the

women in the home, they will continue to keep a tight focus on staying

sober and not be distracted by the incident, she said.

Thames added that the experience has taught her and the neighborhood

an important lesson.

“Anyone can become the subject of a hate crime,” she said. “But it’s

up to the community to not overreact to the situation. We must join hands

and remain strong.”

QUESTION

CRIME WATCH

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