THE number of reports of hate crime in Cheshire has soared by more than 360 per cent in the past eight years.

This is according to the latest figures released by the Home Office collected from police forces across England and Wales.

In the year 2018/19, 1,657 hate crimes were reported in Cheshire compared to just 359 in 2011/12.

This shows a sharp increase of 362 per cent over the course of eight years, compared with a rise of 136 per cent across England and Wales during the same period.

Northwich Guardian:

Worryingly, this county-wide increase is the third highest in the country behind South Yorkshire (428 per cent) and Kent (408 per cent).

Hate crime is defined as ‘any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic’.

The five centrally monitored strands of hate crime are race or ethnicity, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity.

Cheshire has seen a rise every year since the figures were collated in 2011/12 with the exception of 2013/14, when no statistics were available.

Northwich Guardian:

On the rise in reports, David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, said: “Hate crime is an abhorrent crime which is increasing on both local and national levels.

“For a long time, hate crime has been a hugely under-reported issue, so it is pleasing to see that more victims in Cheshire are having the courage to come forward.

“Working with our community partners is key to encouraging more victims to report hate crime, either to the police or via third party reporting centres, and I have continued to invest in training for third party reporting centres to develop even more places for residents to report abuse.

“No one should have to tolerate abusive behaviour which targets them because of who they are, and I would encourage anyone who feels that they have been a victim of hate crime to report it to Cheshire Police.”

Northwich Guardian:

David Keane

At national level, there were 103,379 hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales in 2018/19, showing an increase of 10 per cent compared with the previous year (94,121 offences).

This continues the upward trend in the past eight years, with the number of hate crimes recorded by police having more than doubled since 2011/12 from 43,748 to 103,379.

According to the latest Home Office report: “While increases in hate crime over the last five years have been mainly driven by improvements in crime recording by the police, there has been spikes in hate crime following certain events such as the EU Referendum and the terrorist attacks in 2017.”

The majority of hate crimes in 2018/19 were race hate crimes, accounting for around three-quarters of offences totalling 78,991.