Greater Manchester Police record increase in LGBT+ hate crime for third consecutive year

Homophobic and transphobic hate crime recorded by police in the UK rose sharply after lockdown restrictions were eased.

Greater Manchester Police have recorded an increase in the number of LGBT+ hate crime for a third consecutive year.

A total of 37 out of 46 forces in the UK have published a monthly breakdown of their statistics for the last three years.

All the figures are the number of offences held by each force at the time of responding to the freedom of information request.

Below is a summary of the number of sexual orientation and transphobic offences recorded by police forces in the North West in 2019, 2020 and January-August 2021.

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester Police recorded 1,248 sexual orientation hate crimes in 2019, 1,319 in 2020 and 1,436 from January to August 2021.

Some 178 transphobic hate crimes were recorded in 2019, 166 in 2020 and 181 in January-August 2021.

The highest number of sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month across this period was 262 in July 2021; for transphobic hate crimes it was 44 in July 2021.

A total of 515 violence against the person sexual orientation hate crimes were recorded in 2019, with 588 in 2020 and 684 from January to August 2021.

There were 72 violent transphobic hate crimes recorded in 2019, 84 in 2020 and 106 in January-August 2021.

The highest number of violent sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month was 120 in July 2021; for violent transphobic hate crimes it was 28 in July 2021.

Greater Manchester Police said that in July 2019 it implemented one of the largest IT infrastructure changes in UK policing. It added that its systems are in continual development and the data provided is what the systems currently hold.

Greater Manchester Police recorded 1,436 LGBT+ hate crimes from January to August 2021.

Cumbria

Cumbria Police recorded 136 homophobic hate crimes in 2019, 142 in 2020 and 97 from January to August 2021.

15 transphobic hate crimes were recorded in 2019, 23 in 2020 and 22 in January-August 2021.

The highest number of homophobic hate crimes in a calendar month across this period was 25 in May 2021; for transphobic hate crimes it was five in both June and July 2020, and in June 2021.

A total of 76 violence against the person homophobic hate crimes were recorded in 2019, with 67 in 2020 and 43 from January to August 2021.

There were 10 violent transphobic hate crimes recorded in 2019, 12 in 2020 and seven in January-August 2021.

The highest number of violent homophobic hate crimes in a calendar month was 13 in November 2019; for violent transphobic hate crimes it was three in both September 2019 and July 2020.

Cumbria Police recorded 97 LGBT+ hate crimes from January to August 2021.

Lancashire

Lancashire Police recorded 423 sexual orientation hate crimes in 2019, 456 in 2020 and 346 from January to August 2021.

For transphobic hate crimes, the force was not able to provide exact figures for every month due to low numbers returned. Based on those months for which data was provided, it is possible to say that at least 45 transphobic hate crimes were recorded in 2019, 68 in 2020 and 62 in January-August 2021.

The highest number of sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month across this period was 66 in July 2021.

A total of 198 violence against the person sexual orientation hate crimes were recorded in 2019, with 236 in 2020 and 174 from January to August 2021.

At least 20 violent transphobic hate crimes were recorded in 2020 and 30 in January-August 2021. It was not possible to provide exact figures for the months of 2019 due to low numbers returned.

The highest number of violent sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month was 35 in July 2021.

Lancashire Police recorded 346 LGBT+ hate crimes from January to August 2021.

Homophobic and transphobic hate crime recorded by police in the UK rose sharply after lockdown restrictions were eased, hitting their highest monthly level since the pandemic began, new analysis shows.

The figures were obtained by the PA news agency, based on freedom of information responses from 37 of 46 police forces.

Lockdown restrictions such as social distancing and the closure of shops and hospitality were in place across the UK for much of the first three months of 2021.

Restrictions were then eased in stages, with almost all lifted by the end of June - the month that saw the highest volume of homophobic and transphobic offences across the UK for any calendar month across all three years.

Organisations said more research is needed but there could be many reasons for the rise, including more opportunities to report offences as restrictions loosened, an increased number of people being out and about, and the reopening of the night-time economy.

Charity Stonewall described the rise as "worrying" and said the figures are a "stark reminder" that LGBTQ+ people are "still at risk of attack because of who we are".

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) strongly encouraged victims to come forward and said officers are highly trained and will "treat everyone with respect and dignity and handle cases sensitively".