05/11/2023
There is mixed news in relation to hate crime, according to the BBC News Channel. Hate crimes against gay, lesbian and bisexual people have fallen 6% in the past year, to 25,639. However, Recorded hate crimes against transgender people in England and Wales rose 11% to 4,732 offences in the last year, according to Home Office figures. The total number of hate crimes fell 5% to 145,214 incidents in the 12 months to March 2023. Prof Matthew Williams, director of Cardiff University's HateLab, warned that the overall fall in statistics comes after the Home Office advised police to "prioritise free speech" when dealing with potential hate incidents. He said: "The downward trend is a welcome decline but I'm still alarmed by the continued increase in crimes against the trans and religious communities which I can only say is being fuelled by political rhetoric and the fallout on social media and in the media."
