Police record 146,825 hate crimes as race and religion-related offences rise
Home Office figures reveal a 7% annual rise in police-recorded hate crimes, with increases in offences relating to race and religion.
By Keep Updated UK Newsroom
Published:
Latest annual figures
Police recorded 146,825 hate crimes in England and Wales in the year ending March 2026, a 7% increase on the previous year's figure of 137,560, according to Home Office statistics published on Thursday 8 October.
The report shows 107,926 race-related hate crimes, up 9%, and 11,419 religion-related hate crimes, up 13%. It also records decreases in offences associated with sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity.
Rise in offences targeting faith communities
Within the religious hate crime data, police recorded 5,132 offences targeted at Muslims, a 15% increase, and 3,162 targeted at Jewish people, a 10% increase. The Home Office notes that incidents were not evenly distributed through the year, with peaks around particular periods of public tension and disorder.
The figures count police-recorded offences, rather than a census of every incident experienced by a community. Some individuals may report more than one offence, and the motivations recorded for an incident can overlap.
Other categories saw annual decreases
Offences marked as relating to sexual orientation fell by 1% to 21,407. Disability-related hate crimes fell by 5% to 10,140, while transgender-related hate crimes declined by 4% to 3,955. These movements are part of the same annual dataset and should be reported alongside the increases.
Public order offences made up 53% of recorded hate crimes and violence-against-the-person offences accounted for a further 40%.
What police figures can and cannot show
The Home Office warns that changes in recording practices and improved identification of hate crimes mean police figures are not a reliable measure of long-term prevalence since 2014. Some incidents are never reported. The Crime Survey for England and Wales offers a separate measure based on people's experiences, although it also has coverage limits.
The latest release is valuable evidence about crimes coming to police attention and the demand faced by forces. It does not show precisely how many hate crimes occurred in the population.
Sources & Further Information
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