The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday the creation of a special unit to prosecute hate crimes.
The unit is staffed by three prosecutors and two investigators, and is supervised by the district attorney’s head of special prosecutions.
“Hate will not be tolerated here,” District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
The unit will prosecute crimes based on bias against a victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or gender.
The unit’s work will include training law enforcement on how to effectively investigate hate crimes so they can be successfully prosecuted.