National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2017, Shadow Communities Secretary and North Wales AM Mark Isherwood, has spoken in the Assembly today of the rising number of hate crime incidents in Wales and called for more to be done to address them.
Hate crime is defined as an offence which is perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic. Police recorded hate crimes in England and Wales increased 18% in 2014/15 and 19% in 2015/16, with around 80% being racially motivated.
Speaking in the Debate on Tackling Hate Crime, Mr Isherwood stated that in July to September 2016, Police recorded hate crime increased 22% in North Wales to 56 incidents, 52% in Dyfed Powys to 35 incidents, 22% in Gwent to 77 incidents and 10% in South Wales to 276 incidents.
He said:
“Police recorded hate crime figures in England and Wales published today show a further 29% rise in 2016-17 – with Home Office statisticians saying that this is thought to reflect both a genuine rise in hate crime and ongoing improvements in crime recording by the Police.
“Last month, new research showed the number of lesbian, gay and bi people in Wales experiencing hate crime had jumped from 11% in 2013 to 20% this year.
He added: “Any incident or crime, which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated because of a person’s impairment or perceived impairment should be recorded as Disability Hate Crime’.
Reported disability hate crimes across the UK are up 101% to 3,079 over 2 years, with reported crimes against disabled children up 150% to 450 – and the Home Office has expressed concern that disability hate crime is still significantly under-reported by victims.
“Although there has been a steady increase in the overall recording of hate crime, with more victims having the confidence to come forward and the police improving the way they identify and record hate crimes, I therefore move Amendment 1, noting that the “charity Victim Support has said that more needs to be done to encourage victims to come forward”.
“I move Amendment 2, welcoming the UK Government's consultation on the new Social Media Code of Practice provided for by the UK Digital Economy Act, that will ensure a joined-up approach to remove or address bullying, intimidating or humiliating online content, including trolling and abuse that is often disproportionately targeted at women.
Mr Isherwood also moved Amendment 3, supporting calls for crimes committed against older people because of their age to be recognised as hate crimes, and Amendment 4, calling “on the Welsh Government to add hate crime to the refreshed Autism Strategy”.
He said: “The Welsh Government’s 2016-17 (‘Tackling Hate Crimes Framework for Action’) Progress Report refers to the Autistic Spectrum Disorder Strategic Action Plan, but it doesn’t address hate crime against Autistic adults and the ‘Learning with Autism’ programme for Primary Schools is not necessarily about tackling hate crime”.
“Overall, as the National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Hate Crime states: “As terrorists seek to divide us, it is more important than ever that we continue to stand united in the face of hostility and hatred”.