Please see the below table for the requested information.

 

Public order sexual orientation hate crimes, 01/04/2022 to 31/03/2023

	Crimes
Recorded crime	708
- of which, offender aged under 18	13
- of which, police officer victim	139

 

Notes

Information represent the number of crimes recorded during the period which:

- were not subsequently cancelled,

- were classified as Public order offences,

- were recorded as HATE CRIME - SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

Offender under 18 information represents the number of those crimes recorded during the period which:

- had one or more offenders linked who were aged under 18 at the time the offence was committed (earliest date),

- the offender was linked with a positive outcome (e.g. Charged, Detected, PND, Caution, Community Resolution) - i.e. where it is clear they committed the offence.

Police officer victim may have been on or off duty at the time of the offence.

Information is subject to further investigation, reclassification and cancellation, and may therefore change over time.

Crime classifications based on Home Office Counting Rules for Recorded Crime: Home Office Crime Recording Rules for frontline officers & staff - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

A Hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on:  

• a person’s race or perceived race, or any racial group or ethnic background including countries within the UK and Gypsy and Traveller groups 

• a person’s religion or perceived religion, or any religious group including those who have no faith 

• a person’s sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation, or any person’s sexual orientation 

• a person’s disability or perceived disability, or any disability including physical disability, learning disability and mental health or developmental disorders 

• a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender, including people who are transsexual, transgender, cross dressers and those who hold a Gender Recognition Certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. 

A Hate Incident is any non-crime incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on:  

• a person’s race or perceived race, or any racial group or ethnic background including countries within the UK and Gypsy and Traveller groups 

• a person’s religion or perceived religion, or any religious group including those who have no faith 

• a person’s sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation, or any person’s sexual orientation 

• a person’s disability or perceived disability, or any disability including physical disability, learning disability and mental health or developmental disorders 

• a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender, including people who are transsexual, transgender, cross dressers and those who hold a Gender Recognition Certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004. 

Non-crime Hate Incidents must also be recorded by the Police when the Police apply their judgement and establish that there is hostility towards a protected characteristic group.

West Yorkshire Police is a victim focused organisation. “As part of our victim focus, we have committed to record every hate incident whether it passes the threshold to be classified as a crime or not. We have worked very closely with partners to campaign and actively encourage victims to come forward and make reports to the police.

Our crime recording has been judged as ‘Outstanding’ by the HMICFRS. This means that while we record some high levels of hate offending, we also have a better picture of what is happening and would rather victims felt empowered to make their voices heard.

We continue to work to better improve the investigation of hate crime and the outcomes for victims.  The force has specialist Hate Crime Co-ordinators who 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).

In 2022 West Yorkshire Police won an award from United Response for our support in tackling disability hate crime.  We know that disability hate crime is massively under reported and we will continue to raise awareness and encourage reporting which should give the public the confidence to know that we take these matters seriously and recognize them as victims of crime.”

West Yorkshire Police also utilise out of court disposals for dealing with hate crime which involves education with perpetrators.