Hate crime services
In 2019-20 we offered support to 5,114 people after they had experienced hate crime.
There were 105,090 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales in 2019/20 (excludes Greater Manchester Police), an increase of 8% compared with 2018/19 (97,446 offences).
What is hate crime?
Hate crime is any crime where the offender targets a person or community because of the victim’s personal characteristics (or when an offender assumes that their victim comes from a particular group or community).
Victims of hate crime are usually targeted because of their perceived:
- belief
- disability
- race
- religion
- sexual orientation
- transgender identity.
However, any crime or incident motivated by bias or prejudice against a person’s identity, such as targeting of alternative subcultures, can be considered a hate crime.
Who is most affected by hate crime?
Hate crime often affects the most vulnerable people, which makes it harder for them to seek help. Many victims feel that they can’t tell anyone about what is happening to them, and end up suffering in silence. This damages people’s self-esteem and can affect whole communities. Victims may also not tell the police because they aren’t confident in the criminal justice system.
About a quarter of hate crime prosecutions collapse because the victim thinks the justice system won’t support them. People or communities affected by hate crime may already feel excluded from mainstream society, and hate crime can deepen feelings of isolation.