13/08/2022
BBC Points West reports that a Freedom of Information Request from campaigning organisations had revealed a jump of some fifty per cent in hate incidents targetting the LGBTQIA community. The regional programme said that reports of such incidents rose 38% in Avon and Somerset, 72% in Gloucestershire and 149% in Wiltshire during the two-year period to 2021. People have speculated as to why this increase should have occurred. Police forces have emphasised that many more LGBTQIA people feel confident that the Police will now listen sensitively to their reports. Ch Insp George Headley, from Avon and Somerset Police, said: "Historically there's been national recognition of under reporting of hate crime and a lot of hard work has gone in between the police, partners and working with communities to try to improve trust and confidence in reporting." However, other experts in community politics have also noted the influence of global populism, Trumpist politics and the antics of the British right wing tabloid papers on public discourse.
