Covering the period 1 January-31 December 2010, ACPO has just published data for the five monitored forms of hate crime classifications used by the criminal justice system.
So what are the headline figures? In 2010, the police recorded 48,127 crimes where the victim – or any other person – perceived the criminal offence to be motivated by hostility based on a person’s race, religious belief, sexual orientation or disability (or where the victim was perceived to be transgender).
By way of comparison, 51,920 such crimes were reported in 2009.
Commenting on these latest statistics, chief constable Stephen Otter – ACPO’s lead on equality, diversity and Human Rights – said: “Hate crimes cause a great deal of fear among victims and communities. We’re determined to reduce the harm caused by hate crime. As a service, we’ve listened to victims’ groups who have told us that, by publishing this data, confidence in the police and the wider criminal justice system would be improved.”
Importantly, the 2010 data set shows increases in disability and transgender hate crime.
“While we would obviously want to see reductions in the incidence of all hate crime,” continued Otter, “we know that these crimes have been significantly under-reported in the past.”
According to Otter, the police service has “committed to building victims’ confidence” and improving its own recording practices so that more victims can access the service they deserve.
“We continue to build on this improvement,” he stated, “and I would encourage anyone who is a victim of hate crime to report it to their local police or to use True Vision: the website dedicated to preventing hate crime, our online reporting facility.”
Understanding nature and extent of hate crime
Iqbal Bhana OBE DL, deputy chairman of the Government’s Hate Crime Advisory Group, added: “The continued publication of this data is to be welcomed. It represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the nature and extent of hate crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
Although members of the Government’s Hate Crime Advisory Group emanate from a range of backgrounds, Bhana stressed that all of them fully recognise the “transparent reporting” of hate crime is essential to give confidence to victims and communities.
“The UK is among the world’s leaders in the way that it responds to hate crime,” asserted Bhana, “but there is still much work to be done. One of the greatest challenges is to reduce the under-reporting of hate crime.”
Bhana is particularly pleased to see the increases in disability hate crime as many tragic crimes have highlighted the need to improve services to victims.
“We have worked with Government and ACPO to increase the reporting of such crimes, but we cannot afford to let up on our efforts or be complacent. It’s good to see progress being made, but there’s still a long way to go before we can be satisfied that hate crime victims are properly protected.”
ACPO comment on latest rape crime numbers
ACPO’s lead on rape and serious sexual offences has commented on figures pertaining to the investigation of rape cases in England and Wales.
Quoted on the official ACPO website, chief constable Dave Whatton said: “One of the most difficult offences police and prosecutors deal with is rape. Not only are the investigations complex, but understanding the true nature and extent of rape is difficult because academic research shows that the incidence of this offence is under-reported.”
Whatton continued: “Figures and statistics without context can never give the whole picture on how we manage and investigate rape across the criminal justice system. In her review of how rape complaints are handled, Baroness Stern made clear recommendations about the complex nature of rape statistics. Her view is that they should always be accompanied by enough explanation and context so that their meaning and the conclusions that can and cannot be drawn are understood.”
Whatton elaborated on this last point. “For example, when confidence grows in a police force’s ability to investigate rape there may be an upsurge in the reporting of historical cases. Due to the time elapsed, these cases can be more difficult to prosecute and this will impact upon what the statistics can tell us in terms of that particular police force’s approach to the crime.”
Under the localism agenda, the focus has been to move away from centrally set performance targets for the police, emphasising instead the need for local police forces to make themselves accountable to their public. This will be achieved by working together to better serve the needs of local communities.
Whatton concluded: “In recent years we have made significant advances in the way in which we approach the investigation of this difficult offence. The creation of specialised teams within forces is seen as a real step forward and has been met with positive feedback from both victims and partner agencies.”
As far as Whatton’s concerned, what is of utmost importance is that victims of rape have confidence to report such crimes as well as having confidence that any allegation will be dealt with properly, sensitively and robustly by the police service.
Further information on ACPO
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) is an independent, professionally-led strategic body.
In the public interest and in equal and active partnership with Government and the Association of Police Authorities, ACPO leads and co-ordinates the direction and development of the police service in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In times of national need, on behalf of all chief officers ACPO actively co-ordinates the strategic policing response.
ACPO’s 329 members consist of 242 chief police officers from the home forces of assistant chief constable rank (commanders in the Metropolitan Police Service and the City of London Police) and above, plus 66 senior police staff members from the 44 forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Non-home forces such as the British Transport Police have 21 chief police officer members, and there are three members on board from the Service Police.
