Recorded hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation and trans identity have fallen, but the numbers are still alarmingly high
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGE BY GETTY IMAGES VIA CANVA
The government’s annual hate crime statistics have been released. Covering the year ending in March 2024, the newly released report contains details about the hate crime offences recorded by police in England and Wales.
The report showed there was an overall decrease in recorded hate crimes by five per cent. This is the second year in a row that hate crime has fallen.
A hate crime is defined as any criminal offence motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic. These characteristics are race/ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation and trans identity.
The majority of hate crimes were racially motivated, making up 70 per cent of the recorded offences. Those motivated by sexual orientation were down eight per cent and those driven by transphobia were down two per cent. Race and disability hate crimes also dropped, but there was a 25 per cent rise in religiously motivated offences.
Simon Blake, CEO of Stonewall said the rise in religious hate crimes is “deeply worrying”. He added: “A rise in hatred towards one marginalised group is harmful to everyone, including the LGBTQ+ community, and has a corrosive effect across society.”
As with the overall decrease in recorded hate crimes, this year was the second in a row to see a fall in those motivated by sexual orientation. The report credited this with a decrease in public fear.
This is the first year a fall has been noticed in hate crimes against the trans community and this means trans hate crimes make up 3 per cent of all hate crimes recorded, triple what it was 10 years ago.
The report also revealed what type of crimes were committed against these groups. The most common category of sexual orientation hate crime was listed as public order offences, which can include the use of threatening or abusive language, violent disorder and riots. The most common type of trans hate crime was stalking and harassment.
The volume of recorded hate crimes that were dealt with by a charge or summons remained low. Public order offences were the most commonly committed hate crimes, at just over half of the total recorded, and yet only one in ten were dealt with by a charge or summons.
Blake and Stonewall said: “We know hate crime reported to the police is only part of the picture, so it’s vital all those affected have access to support. The fight against hatred is shared, so we must work together to build a society where everyone is safe and respected and free from harm.”
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