Hate Crime & Cohesion

What is hate crime?

Hate crime is defined as any criminal offence that is perceived—by the victim or by any other person—to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards an individual based on a personal characteristic.
This definition was agreed in 2007 by the main statutory criminal justice agencies. There are five centrally monitored strands of hate crime:

Race or ethnicity
Religion or beliefs
Sexual orientation
Disability
Transgender identity

A victim does not need to belong to an identifiable group to be targeted. The defining factor is the perpetrator’s motivation or perceived motivation.

Impacts of Hate Crime

Hate crime has wide‑ranging impacts at both individual and community levels. Common emotional responses to learning about hate crime include anger, anxiety, and heightened feelings of vulnerability. Within affected communities, individuals often take steps to increase their personal security and avoid areas of their neighbourhood where they believe an attack is more likely to occur. Additional behavioural changes may include relocating from the area altogether or reducing social participation. Numerous studies have also shown that hate crime can have serious and lasting effects on mental health, including increased rates of depression and post‑traumatic stress disorder. Overall, hate crime not only harms direct victims but also undermines community cohesion and wellbeing, highlighting its broader societal consequences (Rupert)(Brunton-Smith).

Key findings:

95% of victims felt that hate crime had detrimentally affected their quality of life (Chakraborti).
Victims of hate crime are more often targeted multiple times and can experience psychological impacts that are up to four times more severe than those experienced by victims of other crimes (Home Office).

Anonymised personal accounts

“The stuff they’re saying about you is the same stuff you have fought for years. To be comfortable in your own skin. To come out and say “This is who I am and I’m happy with it”. So when it does happen it’s something you can’t change but it’s something you struggle to accept (Chakraborti).”

“It makes you feel demoralised. It makes you feel hated. It makes you feel isolated, unwanted (Chakraborti).”

Hate Crime Nationally

These were the hate crimes recorded at a national level between 2024 to 2025

Hate Crime Strand	2024/25
Race	98,887
Religion	10,065
Sexual orientation	21,523
Disability	10,649
Transgender	4,120
Total Number of Motivating Factors	145,244
Total Number of Offences	137,550

Prevalence of hate crimes across the five monitored strands.

Hate Crime Strand	Percentage
Race	72%
Religion	7%
Sexual orientation	16%
Disability	8%
Transgender	3%

Hate Crime in Local Areas – Police Recorded Crime Data

Between November 2024 and October 2025, Peterborough generally recorded the highest number of hate crimes, followed by Cambridge City, Huntingdonshire, South Cambridgeshire, Fenland, and East Cambridgeshire.
Across this period, the total number of recorded hate crimes fell by 5%, a reduction of 119 incidents (from 1,607 to 1,488). While reports rose steadily between November 2024 and May 2025, a clear downward trend was observed from June through October 2025.
In October 2025, Peterborough reported the highest number of hate crimes (43), followed by Cambridge City (30) and Fenland (16).

Local Research

Hate crime has been a priority issue for a number of partnerships and organisations for several years. This work has included the ongoing monitoring of police‑recorded hate crime data, the production of briefings for key stakeholders, and the exploration of the lived experiences of local residents.
A recently updated infographic for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, broken down by district, now includes data for the full 2025 calendar year (click the image below to view the infographic).
A historic briefing produced in 2016 for elected members is also available below. This report provides valuable context by presenting trends over time and explaining key concepts related to community cohesion.
In addition, bespoke briefings focusing specifically on recorded hate crime in South Cambridgeshire and East Cambridgeshire have been produced and can also be accessed below.

Further Information and Links

For more information about what hate crime is and how to report it, please click here

Research focusing on race equality was published by the Human Rights Equality Commission and can be found here

Data story about hate crime in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Reports

All of the following reports can also be found in the document library

Police Recorded Hate Crime in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Sources

Brunton-Smith, Ian, et al. “How does hate hurt more? national evidence for the varying emotional impacts of hate crime.” European Journal of Criminology, vol. 23, no. 3, 4 June 2025, pp. 371–394, https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708251334266.

How hate crime affects a whole community

Chakraborti, Neil, et al. pp. 1–86, The Leicester Hate Crime Project .

How does hate hurt more? National evidence for the varying emotional impacts of hate crime

Rupert Brown, Mark Walters & Jenny Paterson. “How Hate Crime Affects a Whole Community.” BBC News, BBC, 12 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42622767.

The Leicester Hate Crime Project (PDF download)

Home Office, Action Against Hate: The UK Government’s plan for tackling hate crime (2016).

Action Against Hate. The UK Government’s plan for tackling hate crime