Racially and religiously aggravated crime up 15% from previous year in West Yorkshire in 2021

The number of recorded racially and religiously aggravated crimes in West Yorkshire was 15 per cent higher in 2021 than it was in 2020.
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Figures taken from data published by the Home Office show that in 2021, 5,334 racially and religiously aggravated crimes were recorded by West Yorkshire Police.

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This is an increase on the 4,642 recorded during 2020.

West Yorkshire Police's number of recorded racially and religiously aggravated offences is the fourth highest of 2021. Credit: Laurence Griffiths / Getty ImagesWest Yorkshire Police's number of recorded racially and religiously aggravated offences is the fourth highest of 2021. Credit: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images
West Yorkshire Police's number of recorded racially and religiously aggravated offences is the fourth highest of 2021. Credit: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images

West Yorkshire is not the only region to have had an increase, as 39 of the 44 police forces in England and Wales reported a rise in racially and religiously aggravated offences from 2020 to 2021.

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Of those forces, 34 reported that numbers had reached a new high.

Five offences come under this category of crime - racially or religiously aggravated assault with injury, racially or religiously aggravated assault without injury. racially or religiously aggravated harassment, racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage, and racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress.

West Yorkshire Police's number of recorded racially and religiously aggravated offences is the fourth highest in England and Wales for 2021.

Assistant Chief Constable Osman Khan said: “We record every hate incident whether it passes the threshold to be classified as a crime or not, and have worked very closely with partners to campaign and actively encourage victims to come forward and make reports to the police.

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“By encouraging reporting of hate crime, people now have the confidence to tell us about incidents where the suspect cannot be identified, for example in some online abuse cases.

West Yorkshire Police is one of only four UK forces to be graded as ‘outstanding’ by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Service for crime data integrity. Our consistent approach to recording every incident and hate crime reported to the force empowers victims and allows a clear understanding of the levels of hate incidents and crimes across the county."

Metropolitan Police recorded the highest number of these offences in England and Wales in 2021. Their figure of 15,394 marked a 2 per cent increase on the 15,156 recorded in 2020.

Assistant Chief Constable Khan said: “We record all hate crimes, including where a crime is reported but there is no evidential opportunity to identify a suspect, and some where a victim wishes to report it but does not wish for any further action to be taken by the police.

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“Due to the unique nature of hate crime offences, we often find that a victim just wants the problem to stop and does not want to go through the court process.

“The increase in hate crime reports since 2015 has also seen the proportion of incidents which have no prospect of detection increase too.

“Our specialist Hate Crime co-ordinators assist investigating officers in identifying perpetrators, providing after-care support for victims, and working with communities to increase awareness of hate crime and reporting mechanisms. They also engage in joint working with partners such as local authorities, Victim Support and third-party Hate Incident Reporting Centres (HIRCs).

“Our call handlers and frontline officers have all received bespoke training to help them identify hate crimes and provide support for victims.”