Hate Crime, England and Wales, 2015/16
Sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity
In 2015/16, there were 7,194 sexual orientation hate crimes, 3,629 disability hate crimes and 858
transgender identity hate crimes.
As mentioned above for race or religiously aggravated offences, recording improvements are likely to
be a factor in the increase in offences recorded by the police. This is also the case for increases in
disability, sexual orientation and transgender identity hate crime. In addition to ONS’s statement
previously given, anecdotal evidence provided by some forces have mentioned there have been
drives to improve the reporting and the recording of hate crime, as well as further training of staff. The
increase across all three strands since 2014/15 (44% for disability, 29% for sexual orientation and
41% for transgender) may suggest improved identification of hate crime as a factor, but it is possible
that some of the increase may be due to an increase in actual criminal hate behaviour. These could be
genuine increases in hate crimes or increases in the numbers of victims coming forward to report a
hate crime.
For 40 police forces, sexual orientation hate crime was the second most commonly recorded hate
crime. In the majority (41) of forces transgender identity hate crime was the least commonly recorded
hate crime (Appendix Table 2.01).
2.2 HATE CRIMES BY TYPE OF OFFENCE
Figure 2.3 and Appendix Table 2.02 shows the types of offences recorded as hate crimes:
fifty-six per cent of hate crimes were public order offences11;
thirty-three per cent were violence against the person offences, of which around a quarter (26%)
were violence with injury with the remaining three-quarters (74%) being violence without injury
offences; and
seven per cent were criminal damage/arson offences, while the remaining four per cent were
other notifiable offences (Figure 2.3).
Figure 2.3: Distribution of offences flagged as hate crimes, 2015/16
4%
7%
Public order
Violence against the person
33%
Criminal damage and arson
56%
Other notif iable of f ences
Source: Police recorded crime, Home Office
11
Includes: public fear, alarm or distress, violent disorder and other offences against the State or public order.
8