Hate crime

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 specific part or perceived part of their identity including their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, being transgender as well as other characteristics.

Non-crime hate incident

Any incident where a crime has not been committed, but where it is perceived by the reporting person or any other person that the incident was motivated by hostility or prejudice based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, being transgender, as well as other characteristics.

Hate incidents can have real affects on the victim and they can sometimes escalate to hate crimes being committed.

Perceived characteristics

It could be that you were targeted because of your actual characteristics, what the person thinks your characteristics are, or because of your association to one of those characteristics.

For example, being targeted with homophobic abuse as you leave an LGBT+ venue – you may be gay, the person may think you are gay, or you may be targeted because you are with someone who is gay.  

The below definitions are based on the 1999 Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report.

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  • Disability-based hate crime

    Includes any disability including physical disability, learning disability and mental health or developmental disorder.

  • Race-based hate crime

    Includes any racial group or ethnic background including countries within the UK and Gypsy and Traveller groups.

  • Religion or faith-based hate crime

    Includes any religious group including those who have no faith in a theology which is the study of any religion or belief.

  • Transgender-based hate crime

    Includes people who are transsexual, transgender, cross dressers and those who hold a Gender Recognition Certificate under the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

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What does this mean for me?

If you have been a victim of a crime, and you believe you were targeted because of your race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because you’re transgender, then this is a hate crime.

If you have been targeted because of one of your characteristics, but the incident wasn’t a crime, then this could be a hate incident.

The police can only prosecute someone when they have committed a crime.

However, it is important to report all hate crime and hate incidents, as this allows the police and partner agencies to understand and deal with the problems.

This will not only help you but will help other people in your community.