Hatred is a strong term that goes beyond simply causing offence or hostility. Hate crime is any criminal offence committed against a person or property that is motivated by an offender's hatred of someone because of their:
- race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins
- religion
- gender or gender identity
- sexual orientation
- disability
Hate crime can take many forms including:
- physical attacks – such as physical assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti, neighbour disputes and arson
- threat of attack – including offensive letters, abusive or obscene telephone calls, groups hanging around to intimidate and unfounded, malicious complaints
- verbal abuse or insults - offensive leaflets and posters, abusive gestures, dumping of rubbish outside homes or through letterboxes, and bullying at school or in the workplace
The Home Office is working towards:
- increasing confidence in the criminal justice system and in other agencies that deal with hate crime
- increasing the proportion of victims or witnesses of hate crime who come forward to report what they've seen
- increasing the proportion of hate crimes brought to justice
- improving local responses to hate crime, particularly in areas that have disproportionate numbers of cases
We are working with other government departments, the police, and community groups to review our policies on hate crime, and will be launching more initiatives and measures related to this issue in the coming years.
Home Office Hate Crime Page
