The number of hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales has fallen year-on-year for the first time in a decade, but those motivated by religious and transgender hate have risen.
A total of 145,214 offences were recorded in the two nations in the year ending March 2023, down 5% from 153,536 in the previous 12 months, the Home Office said.
The total had previously risen every year since comparable data began in 2012/13.
The Government has noted that the fall coincided with new policing guidance which it said “may have led to greater scrutiny of the threshold of what constitutes a criminal offence of public fear, alarm or distress”.
There were 101,906 race hate crimes, down 6% from the previous year (108,476).
But religious hate crimes were up by 9% to 9,387 offences, while transgender hate crimes increased by 11%, to 4,732 offences.
Sexual orientation hate crimes fell by 6%, to 24,102 offences and disability hate crimes fell by 1% to 13,777 offences.
The Home Office said just over half (51%) of the hate crimes recorded by the police were for public order offences, 41% were for violence against the person offences and 5% were recorded as criminal damage and arson offences.
This year’s total figures do not include Devon and Cornwall Police, who were unable to provide information for 2022/23, the Home Office said.
The department said the overall fall was “largely driven by a decrease in racially or religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress when flagged as a hate crime”, which was down 8%, from 50,866 to 46,780 offences.
The Home Office suggested this might be linked to new interim guidance published last year which “may have led to greater scrutiny of the threshold of what constitutes a criminal offence of public fear, alarm or distress”.
The guidance by the College of Policing on the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) instructed officers to consider whether there was genuine hostility in the incident or whether it could be considered freedom of speech or thought.
The Home Office said its rules for the recording of these offences had not changed.
