Transphobic hate crimes in England and Wales increased by 37 per cent over the last year
New figures from the Home Office also saw crimes motivated by sexual orientation rise by a quarter
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Hate crimes towards the transgender community in England and Wales has risen to 37 per cent over the last year, according to new figures.
Between 2018 and 2019, a total of 103, 400 hate crimes were recorded by police across England and Wales and around three quarters were racially motivated.
However, attacks on the transgender community had the largest increase rocketing up 37 per cent to 2,333 incidents.
According to the figures from the UK Home Office, the second biggest rise was for crimes motivated by sexual orientation which rose by up to a quarter to 14,5000.
The new statistics come after senior police officers warned that hate crimes had risen to a ‘new norm’ following the 2016 EU referendum.
“Sometimes the way things are said can be perceived as giving permission to people to act beyond the normal boundaries … it does have an impact on people,” Chief Constable Charlie Hall told a press briefing on Friday.
“We know some of that debate is quite strong but we ask people when those debates take place, that they are respectful and mindful of the impact that’s being had on others.”