Racially and religiously motivated hate crimes hit a new high in 2020 according to data from the Home Office.
A total of 61,851 racially and religiously aggravated offences were recorded last year, a figure up 7 per cent on the 57,825 offences recorded during 2019.
This is more than double the 28,479 recorded offences which took place in 2013, the first year that specific data of this kind was made available by authorities.
Leicestershire Police’s offences going up the most with an 82 per cent increase to 1,297, followed by Dyfed Powys police in Wales, which had an increase of 49 per cent.
Met Police recorded the highest number of hate offences (15,101) which was a rise of 7 per cent – followed by West Midlands Police (5,155) – an increase of 23 per cent.
The Home Office data, which covers all 43 forces in England and Wales apart from Greater Manchester Police, also showed that in 2020, 27 per cent of cases were closed without a suspect being identified.
That represents an improvement from 2019 when over three in ten cases (31 per cent) were closed despite being unresolved.
Police forces said that the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter demonstrations both contributed to a rise in hate crimes.
After the initial outbreak in Wuhan, China, the force said it saw more victims from Chinese or Southeast Asian communities.
On top of that national events, such as the Brexit referendum of 2016 and George Floyd’s death, have led to sharp rises in hate crimes.
Most recently three England players became targets for racist abuse following their penalty misses in the Euro 2020 final against Italy.
Commenting on the hate crime data, Diana Fawcett, Chief Executive at independent charity Victim Support, said: “We have seen victims who not only live with pain and suffering after facing horrendous abuse but who also have had their sense of safety, well-being and self-worth damaged.”
She added that they must have “the confidence they will get justice from these incidences”.
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