FBI says hate crimes down

Bucking the national trend, the number of reported hate crimes fell slightly last year in Los Angeles, according to FBI statistics released Monday. Rachel uranga in the Daily News.

In Los Angeles, 211 hate crimes were reported in 2006, compared with 219 the year before. Most were based on race, mirroring national trends.

"We are trying to do more education with the community to report more hate crimes," said LAPD Capt. Ann Young, who oversees a three-person Hate Crime Unit. "I think in certain communities it's under-reported for fear of retaliation. Many people are still very fearful. We can understand that."