Hate crimes hit record high

A new Home Office report out today reveals a surge in the number of reported offences triggered by sexual orientation and transgender identity.

CRIME: Man robbed while slumped unconscious in Sheffield street

Police in England and Wales recorded 103,379 hate crimes in 2018/19 - 10 per cent more than the previous year and more than double the 2012/13 figure of 42,255.

Race remained the main trigger in the majority of reported offences at 76 per cent of the total - an 11 per cent rise in the last year from 71,264 to 78,991.

LATEST: Boy remains in hospital after attack outside Cathedral in Sheffield city centre

But there were also jumps in the number of transgender identity hate crimes - up by 37 per cent in the last year from 1,703 to 2,333 - and a 25 per cent hike in offences motivated by sexual orientation, with 14,491 reported compared to 11,592 last year.

Disability hate crimes rose by 14 per cent from 7,221 to 8,256; and offences triggered by religion went up by three per cent from 8,339 to 8,566, the data showed.

The increases are said to be partly due to improvements in the way crimes are recorded, but there were spikes seen after events such as the EU referendum and terrorist attacks in 2017.

More than half – 54 per cent – of the hate crimes recorded by the police were for public order offences, a third – 36 per cent – involved violence, while five per cent were recorded as criminal damage and arson.

Around 12 per cent of the offences were estimated to have more than one motivation, with the majority of those being both race and religion.

The figures have prompted charity bosses and faith leaders to call for urgent action to be taken on hate crime, claiming research suggests that levels of the offence are far higher than those recorded in official data.