Police, communities across US fight back against anti-Asian hate crimes

More than a dozen San Jose, California, police officers walked through the white arches of the Grand Century Mall in ‘Little Saigon’ to reassure a Vietnamese-American community fearful over the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes in the United States.

The officers walked through the arcade of hair and nail salons, restaurants serving Vietnamese cuisine, and herbal medicine shops on Saturday, talking to business owners and patrons. They then conducted a similar tour of San Jose’s Japantown, where a citizen patrol group was formed following the deadly attacks on Asian spas in the Atlanta area on March 16.

"We know that there is a lot of angst, fear with our Asian community," said San Jose’s police chief, Anthony Mata, during his visit to Little Saigon. "It’s important for us to have that dialogue, engage with them and see how we can help."

Across the United States, law enforcement agencies are scrambling to better protect Asian communities amid a wave of violence targeting them since lockdowns to cope with the coronavirus pandemic began about a year ago. A recent report by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, showed that while hate crimes overall in the United States had fallen slightly in 2020, crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) had jumped by 145%.

A vicious assault last week in which a man kicked a 65-year-old immigrant from the Philippines in New York City multiple times was captured on video and went viral, further stoking fears about anti-Asian hate crimes.

New York City has deployed a team of undercover Asian police officers. Other major cities, from San Jose to Chicago, have boosted patrols in Asian neighborhoods and sought to forge closer ties with communities, some of which have sought to fill gaps the police can’t fill.

Leanna Louie, who has organised residents to patrol San Francisco’s Chinatown, said the city’s police force of about 2,000 doesn’t have the resources. "It’s impossible," she said.

Paul Luu, chief executive officer of the Chinese American Service League, welcomed the ‘revved up’ police presence in Chicago’s Chinatown, which he said built on an already supportive relationship that includes Chinese-speaking officers on the beat. His group is focused on educating the community on hate crimes and encouraging victims, many reluctant due to language barriers or wariness of the police, to come forward.

(With inputs from agencies)