Behind the Badge
The recent terror attack at a Jewish festival in Bondi Beach, Australia, killing 15 people and wounding 40, along with the mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island that left two students dead and nine others wounded, are yet the latest tragic examples of the persistent reality of hate crimes.
Such atrocities are also a reminder that, “If you see something, say something.”
SafeOC, the localized version of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s “If You See Something, Say Something” anti-terrorism public awareness campaign, provides detailed guidance on recognizing and reporting suspicious activity.
Suspicious activity is any observed behavior that could indicate a person or group might be involved in a crime or about to commit a crime. Examples could be seeing an unattended bag in a public place or observing someone trying to break into a restricted area.
SafeOC, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, emphasizes that community members should observe, document, and report, but not intervene directly, particularly when there is a potential threat or ongoing crime.
“You know your community better than anyone,” SafeOC states. “Whether you’re heading to work, walking in your neighborhood, or out in the community, remember that we all have a role in keeping each other safe.”
SafeOC provides steps to take for anyone who believes they are the victim of a hate crime or hate incident. Hate crime is is defined by the California Penal Code as a criminal act motivated by “bias against perceived protected characteristics of the victim, including gender, disability, nationality, religion, race or ethnicity and sexual orientation.” Examples include “graffiti or vandalism, physical violence against another person(s), c criminal threats of violence against an individual or group.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department and OC Human Relations define a hate incident as “behavior motivated by hate or bias towards a person’s actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation but that it is not criminal in nature.”
Typically, these behaviors are protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of expression.
Examples include “name-calling, insults, or displaying offensive material that doesn’t threaten violence or damage property, often addressed under civil rights or campus policies rather than criminal law.”
A hate incident or hate crime could also involve multiple bias motivations. The 2024 Orange County Hate Crime Report shows a total of 119 hate crime events were reported in the county in 2024, 12 of which were considered multiple bias events.
Since 2016, there has been a steady increase in reported hate crimes in Orange County year after year. The latest hate crime data reported by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department details 13 hate crime incidents from January through October 2025 for the 13 cities and unincorporated areas served by the agency.
Of the 13 incidents, 10 have been crimes against persons and three were crimes against property. Six were motivated by race, ethnicity or ancestry; five by religion; and two by sexual orientation.
In 2021, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer launched a dedicated Hate Crime unit which includes a specialized team of prosecutors and investigators.
“I have made the prosecution of hate crimes a centerpiece of my administration because of the devastation hate crimes cause to the individual victim as well as the entire community,” stated Spitzer when he announced the formation of the unit. “We cannot change who we are and no one should be targeted and victimized because of who they are, how they look, or who they love. Hate will not be tolerated here… we are preventing hate crimes from ever occurring and when they do occur, we are standing up for victims and holding haters accountable.”
Several law enforcement agencies in Orange County have dedicated web pages with instructions on reporting hate crimes. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has a hate crimes information page that provides details on how to report hate crimes and steps to take for anyone who believes they are the victim of a hate crime.
The Irvine Police Department also has an online hate crime and hate incident reporting portal. The department encourages community members to combat hate crimes through a variety of methods that include partnering with stakeholders to understand the problem at a local level in order to tailor solutions, and to foster partnerships between community groups and law enforcement.
For more safety tips and updates, visit safeoc.com. Sign up here for the SafeOC newsletter.
