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Official Home Office statistics released yesterday show that police recorded 9% more hate crimes in 2020/21 compared with 2019/20. The majority of these hate crimes were racially motivated, accounting for around three-quarters of offences.

APCC Lead for Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Alison Lowe commented: "We live in one of the most diverse and vibrant countries in the world. Our society should celebrate diversity, not seek to supress it. I am sickened that there were almost 125,000 incidents of people being victimised last year simply because of who they are. I stand with all victims of hate crime, against prejudice and cruelty.

“At the same time it is promising to see that, largely, the increase in police-recorded hate crime has been driven by improvements in recording, as well as growing awareness of what constitutes a hate crime. As PCCs and Mayors, it is vital that we hold our forces to account to ensure they continue to tackle hate crime effectively. We must ensure that the victims’ services we commission are able to support all victims of this pernicious crime type. And we need improvements to the wider criminal justice system to ensure more victims receive justice, and more quickly, to send a strong message to offenders that there is no place for abuse in our society.

“If you have been a victim of hate crime, you can find information on how to report on the TrueVision website."

Hate crime statistics