Barnet and Camden residents urged to report homophobic hate crimes

February 3, 2017 office

Barnet and Camden residents are being urged to report incidents of homophobic and other LGBT+ hate crimes. The call from local London Assembly Member, Andrew Dismore, comes after analysis showed an 11% increase in the number of LGBT+ crimes reported to police in Barnet and Camden in the last year. Statistics from the Metropolitan Police also reveal a 13% increase across the capital. Mr Dismore is highlighting the issue as part of LGBT history month, which marks the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales.

Met data reveals that there were 142 homophobic hate crimes reported in Barnet and Camden in 2016, compared to 128 in 2015. However, the government estimates that the actual number of crimes committed is often much higher than the number reported, with 1 in 5 in the LGBT+ community having experienced hate crime in the last 3 years.

Research reveals that the majority of hate crime victims do not report their experiences to the police. This is particularly true of homophobic crimes, with the country’s largest study of hate crime victimisation highlighting just 14% of LGBT+ individuals had reported their most recent experience of hate crime to the police.

In December, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, announced plans to launch an online hate crime hub and roll out Hate Crime Victims’ Advocates across London. Last month he also gave further detail of his plans to recruit a Victims’ Commissioner who will work with survivors to ensure their needs are reflected by the police and criminal services.

Local Labour Assembly Member, Andrew Dismore AM, said:

“There is overwhelming evidence that hate crimes, particularly those committed against the LGBT+ community, are woefully under-reported. We need to turn that around.

“The more information the police have, the better chance we stand of ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice. Many people aren’t aware that a hate crime does not have to be committed against them directly in order for it to be reported – they can tell the police what they witnessed too.

“We have come a long way since discriminatory anti-gay laws were on our statute books, but hate crimes remain a blight on our city. I will continue to call on the Mayor to do everything he can to stamp out this despicable behaviour.”

ENDS

Notes

A Homophobic Offence is any offence which is perceived to be homophobic by the victim or any other person, that is intended to impact upon those known or perceived to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual. (Metropolitan Police);

Borough statistics for LGBT+ hate crimes are available here;

Information about Hate Crime and how to report it to the Metropolitan Police can be found here;

In 2011, the government published the report Working for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality: Moving Forward, which references that 1 in 5 in the LGBT+ community had experienced hate crime in the last 3 years (see page 1);