Hate crime has a particularly harmful effect on its victims, as it seeks to attack an intrinsic part of who they are or who they are perceived to be. Hate crime victims are more likely to suffer repeat victimisation, more likely to suffer serious psychological impacts as a result, and less likely than the victims of other crime to be satisfied with the police response.
The police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have agreed the definition of a hate incident as: any incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender. When hate incidents become criminal offences, they are known as hate crimes.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (now the National Police Chiefs Council) and the CPS have agreed a common definition of hate crime as:
“Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.”
Factsheet: Hate Incident and Hate Crime Fact Sheet (PDF; 199Kb)
Key messages
- There were 441 reported hate crime incidents in County Durham in 2019/20 compared with 360 in 2018/19, an 18% increase. In 2020/21 there were 359 reported hate crime incidents in County Durham to the end of December 2020, which represents a 4% increase compared to the same period in 2019/20 (344 incidents),
- Since 2014/15 there has been a year on year increase in the numbers of recorded hate crimes in County Durham. In 2019-20 there were 723 crimes in comparison to 555 in 2018/19, a 30% increase. In 2020/21 there have been 593 crimes to the end of December 2020, which is a 10.6% increase compared to the same period in 2019/20 (536 crimes),
- Since 2016, Durham Constabulary has delivered a program of engagement and awareness with our diverse communities through our strong Neighbourhood Policing model. Victims have been encouraged to report hate incidents and hate crimes and this has contributed to a rise in reporting,
- In County Durham hate crime is reported most frequently by people working in the licensed economy and hospitality trade; by staff in health care settings and schools; and by residents in neighbourhoods where there are high levels of antisocial behaviour,
- At a regional level, Durham Constabulary has the highest percentage of successful prosecutions across all five hate crime strands.
Links to data
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