United Kingdom

The United Kingdom regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. 

Authorities collaborate closely with civil society, including through Information Sharing Agreements concluded between the police and the Community Security Trust (CST), Galop and Tell MAMA, which enable the exchange of recorded data about incidents. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) regularly convenes the external consultation group (ECG) on hate crime together with community organizations, victim advocacy groups, academics with relevant expertise and others. ECG members scrutinize CPS policies and practices, and inform about necessary changes and improvements.   

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Justice chairs a multi-agency Hate Crime Delivery Group (HCDG) to identify strategic, cross-governmental priorities and develop new approaches to dealing with hate crime. The group meets quarterly and includes representatives of government departments, criminal justice agencies and victim groups. The Department of Justice and Northern Ireland Policing Board jointly fund Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) to engage and consult with the local community, and work with local partners to identify and prioritize local community safety and policing issues and develop initiatives and projects to address these. 

In Scotland, there is the Hate Crime Strategic Partnership Group (SPG), which brings together criminal justice agencies and civil society organizations with hate crime expertise.  The SPG helped ensure a multi-agency strategic approach was taken to the develop the Hate Crime Strategy for Scotland. The Hate Crime and Public Order Act (Scotland) Act 2021 became an Act of Parliament on 23 April 2021. The Act was commenced on 1 April 2024. 

The UK's College of Policing has developed guidelines for police on responding to hate crime, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has issued relevant guidance for prosecutors and published public policy statements on particular hate crime strands. 

Police and prosecution data, which cover the reporting period from April to March of the following year, are regularly published by the relevant criminal justice agencies of England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. 

Hate crime data collection in the United Kingdom
Support for hate crime victims in the United Kingdom
Hate crime capacity building in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom's hate crime legislation
Download the 2010 hate crime report for United Kingdom

OFFICIAL DATA REPORTED BY STATES

Year Hate crimes recorded by police Prosecuted Sentenced
2023 148,735 Not available Not available
2022 147,447 296 (NI) 1,107
2021 158,018 5,984 932
2020 125,848 16,824 9,510
2019 106,672 14,058 9,340
2018 111,076 18,055 10,817
2017 95,552 14,535 11,987
2016 80,763 20,321 Not available
2015 62518 21300 13103
2014 52853 4872 549
2013 47986 19689 12353
2012 47676 19205 10794
2011 50688 19802 12651
2010 53946 19342 11405
2009 58692 13030 10690

Hate crime recorded by police

National developments

The True Vision website, a joint initiative between the Police and the Cross Government Hate Crime Programme, was launched in December 2010. The purpose of the website is to publish hate crime data and to enable victims and third party organizations to report hate crimes online directly to the relevant police agency. The online reporting facility received over 600 reports of hate crimes in the first nine months. 

The Hate Crime Strategy Board, a cross-government initiative comprised of senior representatives and led by the Ministry of Justice, was established to improve criminal justice service to victims. In 2010, the Board produced the Hate Crime Diagnostic Toolkit, which supports local police and prosecutors in identifying and implementing improvements in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. 

The Victim’s Fund, which is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, was allocated over two million pounds to be used for a broad range of hate crime initiatives delivered by civil society groups offering direct support to victims of crime. 

In Northern Ireland, the Criminal Justice Board, which is made up of senior representatives of the seven main statutory criminal-justice agencies in Northern Ireland, reached consensus on a shared definition of “hate crime”.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Islamophobia was established in the Parliament of the United Kingdom to investigate the forms, manifestations and extent of prejudice and discrimination against Muslims; review the effectiveness of all legislation, with a view to improving the rate of success in the prosecution of hate crimes; review existing mechanisms for the recording of anti-Muslim hate crimes; and investigate and review the role of the media in fostering mutual respect and tolerance and guarding against misrepresentations of Islam and intolerance towards Muslims.

The findings of a 2009 United Kingdom Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report on disabled people’s experiences of targeted violence and hate crime, as well as concern about public authorities’ responses to a number of high profile and serious offences committed against disabled people, led to an inquiry, carried out in 2010, into what actions public authorities are taking to discharge their legal duty to eliminate disability-related harassment and its causes. The inquiry involved substantial public consultation and evidence sessions with senior members of the criminal justice system, including the Director of Public Prosecutions. 

KEY OBSERVATION

No information is available.

INCIDENTS REPORTED BY CIVIL SOCIETY

INTERNATIONAL REPORTS

Anti-Muslim hate crime

The EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) issued a report examining the discrimination and violence experienced by Muslim and non-Muslim youths in the United Kingdom. The report found that victims of violence and discrimination often suffered from feelings of social marginalization.