Our Strategic Priorities

1. PUBLIC SAFETY: Enhance public safety through prevention of and planned response to hate crime and discrimination.
2. OUR YOUTH: Equip youth with the knowledge and skills to improve intergroup relations in a multicultural society.
3. CAPACITY BUILDING: Build or strengthen the capacity of local government and other key institutions to more effectively handle human relations issues in the region.
4. CRISIS RESPONSE: Lead in responding to crises threatening intergroup relations due to civil unrest, war, terrorism and other critical incidents.
5. STRENGTHEN INTERNAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: Continually improve the internal systems that ensure Commission compliance with County policies and procedures and timely monitoring, reporting and tracking of key indicators and information.

The Human Relations Commission seeks to harness the strengths of culturally diverse Los Angeles communities by strategically engaging schools, community organizations, law enforcement, faith communities, local governments, youth and major institutions in intergroup relations initiatives.

We envision a county where our many ethnic, religious and cultural groups can interact, and where they can be of a common mind to seek compassion, understanding and mutual respect, and to seek justice, equity, opportunity and accountability for all the residents of this great metropolis.

Our nearly 70 years of human relations experience have taught us that words are more potent than swords, that collaborations and networks build friendships and trust, and that people who can work together, can develop positive programs and strategies to enhance their lives as well as the lives of their neighbors. Equitable negotiation and non-violent conflict resolution are effective tools for building an inclusive and caring multicultural society.

We have identified model schools in which we are advancing human relations programs and infrastructure. It is our objective to create a climate in each of these schools that can reduce and prevent inter-group tensions and hate violence, and to transform students into "peace-makers", able to teach what they have learned in the classroom to others in the larger community.

We have launched an initiative for prevention of racialized gang violence as part of the countywide effort to reduce gang violence. Included are efforts to promote coordination between law enforcement suppression activities and community gang violence prevention/intervention resources.

As part of our key leadership in the area of gang prevention, we have introduced a new civic organizing strategy for the development of youth and the diminishment of violence. We want this to be a potential model for other communities, especially those with high-need.

We continue to produce an annual hate crime report and are working to enhance both the detail of the data and their usefulness.