Highest level of hate crime recorded

Prosecutors are working on the highest ever number of hate crime cases as referrals from police hit record levels.

The Crown Prosecution Service’s latest performance data for July to September 2025 released today (January 15) shows it received 4,358 cases from police which have been flagged as having a hate crime element. This is a 14.7 per cent increase on the previous quarter – April to June 2025 – and 2.8 per cent more than the same period in 2024.

Prosecutors charged 88.1 per cent of hate crime cases during the three months. In total 4,079 prosecutions were completed during this time, 85 per cent of which resulted in a conviction. Four out of five convictions received a hate crime uplift in the length of the criminals’ sentencing.

Racially motivated hate crimes make up 3,098 of the total hate crime flagged referrals, with homophobic cases at 911 and religiously motivated crimes at 193.

The CPS will continue to monitor data trends and performance, and work with partners to better understand and respond to any shifts in offending patterns.

The CPS has also responded to the government's initial hate crime review to identify where the law can be strengthened to enhance our ability to prosecute, deter offenders and achieve justice for victims.

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.”

Despite completing a total of more than 120,000 prosecutions for all crime in this time - 3.4 per cent more than the previous quarter – the live caseload increased by 3.7 per cent to more than 201,000 cases which is the highest number of cases since the pandemic.