Hate crime against transgender people surges in Bedfordshire

Reported hate crimes in Bedfordshire increased significantly in the year to March, new figures show.

Hate crimes are defined as those motivated by a prejudice or hostility towards a personal characteristic – such as race, religion, sexual orientation or gender.

The latest Home Office figures show 1,617 hate crimes were recorded by Bedfordshire Police in the year to March – a 37% increase from 1,179 the year before.

The highest proportion of these crimes were racially-motivated, with 1,068 such offences recorded last year.

And despite accounting for the smallest number of crimes across all categories, offences motivated by transgender identity saw the largest increase.

24 were recorded in Bedfordshire – a 56% increase on 2,799 the year before.

The Home Office said transgender issues have been “heavily discussed on social media” over the last year, which may have contributed to the rise.

Sergeant Carl Perri from Bedfordshire Police said: “We know that hate crime has been underreported for generations and it is reassuring to see that more people are coming forward to report it.

“Over recent years police have worked hard to improve our response to hate crime, including better recording of offences and more training for officers.

“We will also do our best to prove the ‘hate’ element of any offence with the evidence we have available, which is crucial if we are to secure a successful prosecution.

“Targeting someone and assaulting them because of who they are is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

“Policing takes all reports of hate crime seriously because we know that they have a devasting impact on individual victims and targeted communities.

“Everyone has a right to live their life without the fear of targeted abuse for who they are, either physically or verbally. We will always seek to protect that right.”

Diana Fawcett, chief executive at the charity Victim Support, said: “No-one should have to endure abuse and discrimination for simply being themselves.

"Hate crime is a very personal offence which can shatter victims’ confidence and self-worth, making them feel unsafe and threatened – so any rise is seriously worrying."

Bedfordshire Police also recorded 188 offences on the basis of sexual orientation, 94 religious hate crimes and 105 against people with disabilities.

Crimes can be tagged with more than one category, so the overall number of offences may be lower than the sum of the reasons given.

Ms Fawcett cautioned that increased numbers may be the product of better police awareness and incident-logging, which would be an "encouraging trend".

"Our own data actually shows levels of hate crime have remained fairly stable, slightly falling over the past year," she added.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Hate crime is a scourge on communities across the country. It does not reflect the values of modern Britain.

“While the rise in cases is likely to be largely driven by improvements in police recording, these can be serious crimes such as assault and we cannot be complacent.”