SFPD’s Hate Crime Tip Line is expanded to nine languages at (415) 558-5588 — as hate crime rate shows uptick for 2021 21-107

Video available from June 3 community press event features SFPD Chief Bill Scott, S.F. Police Commissioner Larry Yee and APAPA Chair Dennis Wu among others.

San Francisco Chief of Police Bill Scott was joined by Police Commissioner Larry Yee, Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) chair Dennis Wu and other community leaders last week at a gathering of non-English-language news outlets to announce that SFPD’s Hate Crime Tip Line has been expanded to facilitate calls in nine languages, in addition to English.

Although witnesses to in-progress crimes are always urged to call 911 immediately, individuals with non-emergency information that could help to solve a hate crime — or any other crime — may call the multilingual tip line at (415) 558-5588, where callers can press: 1 for Cantonese; 2 for Mandarin; 3 for Spanish; 4 for Tagalog; 5 for Russian; 6 for Vietnamese; 7 for Korean; 8 for Japanese; or 9 for Thai. Tip line callers may always remain anonymous.

“When community leaders from APAPA approached us in the wake of the startling uptick in crimes against our AAPI communities, we listened, we heard them, and we responded,” said Chief Scott. “San Francisco has seen 28 hate crimes committed this year. Beyond those, we’ve seen other violent acts that may not meet the legal standard of a ‘hate crime,’ but that disproportionately target communities of color in our City.”

“If you see hate, if you hear hate, report it — and please call the number (415) 558-5588,” said Commissioner Yee at the June 3 press event. “Let’s continue this — making sure that all residents of San Francisco are safe. We shall overcome this.”

“We lobbied for the Hate Crime Tip Line, and I’m so proud that it is now in nine languages,” said Dennis Wu, chair of the San Francisco chapter of APAPA, which raised thousands in private donations to print multilingual Tip Line cards. “We got it all translated into languages representing our whole city, and that’s because we’re all working together. We recognize that hate affects all of us.”

Other attendees at the June 3 media event at SFPD headquarters included: Jeffrey Lee, vice president of Wah Ying Social Club; Ashley Cheng, chair of the Coalition of Asian American Government Employees; Simon Timony, founder of Ingleside Senior Safety Advocates;
Cassandra Beutler, APAPA-SF program director and SFPD Deputy Chief David Lazar.

SFPD Hate Crime Stats for 2021 YTD
San Francisco has seen 28 hate crimes reported for calendar year 2021 as of June 4, according to SFPD crime data. That total represents approximately one reported hate crime every 5.5 days. Actual or perceived victim categories for 2021 hate crimes break down as follows:

For calendar year 2020, San Francisco saw 48 reported hate crimes, representing approximately one reported hate crime every 7.6 days, according to SFPD data.

Video of June 3 Press Event:
View the video of the SFPD-APAPA Multilingual Hate Crime Tip Line press event.