Record levels of hate crime cases referred to prosecutors in England and Wales

Prosecutors are working on record levels of hate crime cases in England and Wales, describing a 15% rise over a three-month period as “deeply concerning”.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) was handed 4,358 cases from police between July and September last year that had been flagged as having a hate crime element.

This figure was up 14.7% on 3,801 cases in April to June, and was 2.8% higher than the same quarter in 2024.

The majority (3,098) of the hate crime cases in July to September involved a racially motivated element, there were 911 cases involving homophobia, while religiously motivated crimes accounted for 193 referrals.

Prosecutors said that for the latest quarter – July to September – they brought charges 88.1% of hate crime cases.

There were 4,079 prosecutions completed in that period, with 85% resulting in a conviction.

The CPS said four in five convictions saw criminals given a longer sentence because the hate crime element was taken into account.

Lionel Idan, hate crime lead and Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “It’s deeply concerning to see that hate crimes are now at record levels as we know just how deeply this affects victims and their wider communities.

“Despite this increase in offences, our conviction rates show that when cases come to us, they result in real consequences for those who perpetrate such crimes. I would urge anyone who is a victim of hate crime to come forward and report to the police.”

The latest Government statistics, published in October, showed religious hate crime recorded by police in England and Wales had reached a record high.

There were 7,164 such offences recorded by forces across the two nations – excluding the Metropolitan Police – in the year to March 2025, up 3% from 6,973 in the previous 12 months.

This was the highest annual total of these offences recorded, the Home Office said.

Race hate crimes rose by 6% from 77,901 in the year to March 2024 to 82,490 in the year to March 2025.

Race hate crimes continued to account for the majority of police recorded hate crimes (71%), but while figures rose in that latest period, they remained below the peak seen in the year ending March 2022, when 87,905 offences were recorded.

Sexual orientation

The Government figures showed falls in hate crimes based on sexual orientation, down 2% to 18,702 from 19,127, and disability hate crimes, which decreased by 8% from 11,131 to 10,224.

There was also a fall in transgender hate crimes by 11% from 4,258 to 3,809, the second consecutive annual fall.

Overall, police-recorded hate crime in England and Wales stood at 115,990 in the year ending March 2025 – up 2% from 113,166 for the previous 12 months.

It was the first overall rise in three years.