A Hate Crime is any criminal offence that is motivated by hostility and prejudice towards a person’s identity or perceived identity. The following are the five nationally monitored strands:
- Disability
- Race
- Religion/Faith
- Sexual Orientation
- Transgender Identity
Hate crime can occur online or offline. Anyone can be affected by Hate Crime. You don’t have to be a member of the group to which the hostility is targeted at. It’s still a hate crime if someone made a mistake about your identity. For example, if they attacked you because they thought you were of a particular religion, but you aren’t.
Some police forces also record hate incidents based on other personal characteristics such as age or alternative subculture. Alternative subcultures include Goths, Emos, Punks, and other similar groups. The police and the Crown Prosecution Service take all hate crime very seriously and encourage reporting of it. The Citizens Advice Bureau has information about what is a hate crime, how to get help, and how to report it.
Some examples of hate crimes include:,
- assaults
- criminal damage
- harassment
- murder
- sexual assault
- theft
- fraud
- burglary
- hate mail
- harassment
There are also hate incidents, where the incident does not constitute a criminal offence, but it was motivated by prejudice. Examples of hate incidents include:
- verbal abuse like name-calling and offensive jokes
- harassment
- bullying or intimidation by children, adults, neighbours or strangers
- physical attacks such as hitting, punching, pushing, spitting
- threats of violence
- hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, hate mail
- online abuse, for example on Facebook or Twitter
- displaying or circulating discriminatory literature or posters
- harm or damage to things such as your home, pet, or vehicle
- graffiti
- arson
- throwing rubbish into a garden
- malicious complaints, for example, over parking, smells or noise