Hate crimes in California fell by more than 20 percent last year, according to a new report released by California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.'s office.

"Hate Crime in California 2009" showed that hate crime events dropped 21.3 percent from 1,397 in 2008 to 1,100 last year, the second consecutive year of decline. Overall, hate crimes have declined by half since they peaked in 2001, dropping from 2,261 to 1,100.