October 13, 2015

By Press Association

The number of hate crimes reported to police has jumped by nearly a fifth, figures show.

There were 52,528 such offences recorded by forces in England and Wales in 2014-15 – an increase of 18% compared with the previous year, according to Home Office data.

More than 80% were classed as race hate crimes, with others involving religion, disability, sexual orientation and transgender victims.

The actual scale of hate crimes is likely to be higher than the number drawn from police records.

Officials calculated that, based on combined data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales between 2012-13 and 2014-15, there were an estimated 222,000 hate crimes each year.

The latest figures follow a trend in 2013-14, when offences involving religious hatred soared by 45% and race hate crime by 4% after the murder of soldier Lee Rigby.

A report published alongside the data pointed to improved recording of crime over the past year, particularly for offences involving violence. It added: “Together with a greater awareness of hate crime, and improved willingness of victims to come forward, this is likely to be a factor in the increase in hate crimes recorded by the police in 2014-15 compared with the previous year.”

 

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/13/reported-hate-crimes-rise-by-almost-a-fifth