THE number of reported hate crimes in Avon and Somerset has risen by 5.1 per cent in the last year.

The data was published by the Home Office based on the number of hate crimes recorded by police forces in England and Wales.

Avon and Somerset Police said this was a “slight” increase, but “it is encouraging to see that more people are feeling confident to make a report” as crime could go unreported.

The statistics take into account the 12 months to March 2023, and the figures for Avon & Somerset are as follows: Race 2,789, religion 161, sexual orientation 637, disability 362, transgender 119, total offences 3,857.

Avon and Somerset Police have shared the following updates when asked to comment on the figures published by the Home Office.

Updated statistics – current up to date figures as of October 20, 2023.

• Over the past 12 months (up to 20/10/23) there have been 4,699 reported hate crimes – which is up from the previous 12 months slightly by 230 crimes or +5.1 per cent (previous 12 months = 4,469)

Types of hate crime:

• Racial – 64 per cent

• Sexual orientation – 13.3 per cent

• Disability – 11.5 per cent

• Religious/belief – 3.5 per cent

• Transphobic – 2.7 per cent

• Other (Gender, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller, and other) make up the remaining 5 per cent

Types of hate crime offences:

• Public order offences – 52.7 per cent

• Violence against the person offences – 39.8 per cent

• Arson and Criminal damage – 4.4 per cent

• The remaining percentage is made of other crimes such as theft, robbery, sexual offences or knife offences – each one under 1 per cent

Avon and Somerset Police’s Hate Crime thematic lead, Chief Inspector Deepak Kenth, said: “Looking at the past 12 months, we can see that the number of reported hate crimes in Avon and Somerset has risen slightly by 5.1 per cent.

“While it’s never good news that hate crime is on the rise, it is encouraging to see that more people are feeling confident to make a report as one of our biggest challenges around hate crime is that a lot of it goes unreported, which prevents us from tackling it effectively.

“Sadly, some of the communities that are targeted the most are also the least likely to look to the police for help.

“We are working closely with a number of organisations such as SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality), True Vision, Crimestoppers, Bristol Hate Crime and Discrimination Services and Stop Hate UK, to raise awareness within these communities of ways to report hate crime and the services that are available to support victims.

“Another way we are working with partners is to increase our own understanding. For example, Dimensions, a charity supporting people with learning disabilities and autism, has developed training packages for our police officers that focuses on learning disability and autism hate crime awareness.

“Our officers have also been undertaking additional inclusive policing and hate crime training programmes, to enable them to police hate crime more effectively.

“As well as improving the way we deal with hate crime, we also want to prevent hate crime from happening in the first place.

“Key to this is improving community cohesion by having engaging and meaningful conversations with groups throughout Avon and Somerset.

“During Hate Crime Awareness Week, we have been attending a number of community engagement events and we regularly visit schools, community centres and places of worship.

“We want people to come forward to us knowing that they will be believed and treated with respect and dignity. Everyone has the right to live their lives free from hate crime.”