There have been only three reported hate crimes against members of the GLBT community in the first three months of this year, and only 11 in all of 2005, according to reports by San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne.

Lansdowne shared his crime index report with the Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee on April 19. He said hate crimes have been made a priority and police have been aggressive in investigating complaints. Educating the public and officers to recognize hate crimes has also helped. In 2004, there were 16 hate crimes reported by GLBT community members.

Lansdowne told the committee that hate crimes in San Diego are “the lowest we’ve seen on a state level.” There were 10 total hate crimes reported from January to March, and six of those involved bias against race. One crime was motivated by a victim’s religion, the report said. Lansdowne has said previously that hate crimes involving religion rose slightly after the start of the war in Iraq, with incidents involving victims perceived to be Muslims.

According to Assemblymember Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, the California Department of Justice revealed that 1,409 hate crimes were reported in California in 2004. Chu said she will introduce a resolution into the Legislature that would note June as Hate Crimes Awareness Month in the state.

“Establishing a Hate Crimes Awareness Month is a positive step toward eliminating a culture of hate and exclusion in our communities,” Chu said in an April 19 statement announcing the resolution.

Also this month, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and attorneys general from 26 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico have urged congressional leaders to immediately pass federal hate crime legislation that would include cases where a victim’s sexual orientation, gender and gender identity come into play in crimes against them. Current federal law limits hate crimes to those cases motivated by race, religion and national origin.

Alcohol and drug use also contributes to not only hate crimes but other violence, Lansdowne told the Public Safety & Neighborhood Services Committee. “Violence is learned in the home,” he said, noting that 2,110 domestic violence reports were made in San Diego just the first three months of this year.

Lansdowne’s report showed that homicides rose this year in San Diego. There were 14 murders from January to March, as compared to eight last year during the same time. Lansdowne said the murders this year occurred with varying circumstances, ranging from murder-suicide and domestic violence to child abuse and a fight in a bar. One murder, of a gay man, is believed to also be a hate crime.

Most of the committee’s April 19 discussion, however, dealt with the problem of police officers leaving the force for higher paying jobs in other cities, the sheriff’s department or to become investigators with the District Attorney’s Office. Lansdowne said the sheriff is now offering a $5,000 hiring bonus, and the San Diego Police Department can’t compete with such an offer.

Lansdowne said the department is down by 135 officers, and 19 have recently left for other cities. He said the District Attorney’s Office offers a competing salary with no weekend hours, plus a car.

“Those 135 officers, that clearly has an effect on us. The long-term solution … is competitive salaries,” he said.

As part of his budget for fiscal year 2007, Mayor Jerry Sanders has announced that no city worker will get a pay increase. He has announced that 500 jobs would be cut, but they would not come from the police or fire-rescue departments.