West Yorkshire Police close almost a third of hate crime investigations with no suspect identified

Almost a third of police investigations into racially and religiously aggravated offences are being closed without a suspect being identified in West Yorkshire, new analysis shows.
By Don Mort
Published 19th Mar 2019, 19:52 BST
Updated 19th Mar 2019, 19:58 BST
West Yorkshire PoliceWest Yorkshire Police
West Yorkshire Police

Warnings have been made over public confidence in hate crime investigations after West Yorkshire Police discontinued 29 per cent of investigations with no suspect in the frame in the 12 months to September 2018.

In the same period, 46 per cent of such offences recorded by Greater Manchester Police were closed without a suspect and the figure for West Midlands Police was 44 per cent.

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The offences, all classed as hate crimes, include racially or religiously aggravated assault, harassment and criminal damage.

A Home Office report in October 2018 showed all forms of police-recorded hate crime in England and Wales jumped by 17 per cent in 2017/18.

Diana Fawcett, chief officer at independent charity Victim Support, said: "Hate crime is still under-reported as victims often fear they won't be taken seriously.

"The fact that such a large number of these cases are being closed with no suspect identified threatens to further undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system when it comes to reporting racially and religiously motivated hate crime."

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The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) said that while any rise in hate crime was concerning, the latest figures reflected success in improving the reporting of such offences.

The NPCC’s hate crime lead, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, said: "Unfortunately, with many cases, there are often no witnesses to these crimes and scarce evidence. This may lead to police being unable to identify a suspect.

“The police service has no tolerance for this type of abuse but we need to be made aware that crimes are taking place so that we can investigate or better still, prevent them from happening."

Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said: "We recognise we have some way to go to reassure our communities that hate crimes are being treated as seriously as they would expect, but this in itself is a priority for us.”

West Yorkshire Police have been asked to comment.