According to a new crime statistics report, an average of 440 ethnic Koreans are arrested each year for various crimes in California, including murder, robbery, assault and theft.
The latest 2022 Crime Statistics Report, released by the California Attorney General’s Office, reveals that a total of 779,748 offenders were arrested for various crimes last year, indicating a decrease of 1.5% from the previous year’s figure of 791,582.
However, the number of ethnic Korean arrests saw a significant increase of 31.5%, rising from 362 in 2021 to 476 in 2022. Within this group, felony cases also jumped by 19%, from 120 in 2021 to 143 in 2022.
Felonies encompass offenses such as murder, robbery, and assault, while misdemeanors include unintentional homicide, drug-related offenses, prostitution, and DUI (Driving Under the Influence).
In terms of racial breakdown, Hispanics accounted for 350,000 arrests, representing 44.9% of all arrests, followed by whites (252,777) and blacks (121,036).
Within the “Other” category, which includes Asian ethnicities, Korean was the seventh most common ethnicity after American Indian (4,271), Asian Indian (3,027), Filipino (2,852), Chinese (1,984), Vietnamese (1,819), and Samoan (593). This was followed by Laotians (381), Cambodians (272), and Japanese (247).
According to the statistics, the number of Korean arrests reached 898 (194 felonies and 704 misdemeanors) in 2015 and 550 (145 felonies and 405 misdemeanors) in 2018, but dropped to 490 in 2019, 364 in 2020, and 362 in 2021. However, following the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of arrests rebounded.
Meanwhile, South Koreans arrested in the U.S. can seek assistance by contacting the Korean Consulate General in Los Angeles. Presently, the consulate can only intervene in cases involving Korean citizenship holders.
“We currently receive two to three calls a month,” said Kyunghan Kang, a police consul at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea. “According to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, the host country’s law enforcement agency is required to provide ‘consular notification and access’ to the consulate or embassy if the person wishes. We provide services such as consular interviews, going to the police station or prison to check the arrest process, human rights violations and discrimination, checking health conditions, and notifying family members if the person wishes.”
BY NICOLE CHANG, HYOUNGJAE KIM [chang.nicole@koreadaily.com,kim.ian@koreadaily.com]
