Hate and Race Crime Up in East Anglia

9 September 2011, 08:21 | Updated: 9 September 2011, 08:42

The number of hate and race crimes reported in Suffolk and Norfolk has gone up according to new figures.

The figures published by the Association of Chief Police Officers show increases for both counties.

In Suffolk there were 772 crimes in 2010 - compared to 700 in 2009.

In Norfolk there were 533 hate crimes reported in 2010 - compared to 426 the year before.

The majority of the hate crimes in both counties were of a racist nature with 336 racist reports in Norfolk and 556 in Suffolk in 2010.

The second highest type was against disabled people with 116 reports in Norfolk and 99 in Suffolk.

Diversity Manager at Norfolk police, Chief Inspector Amanda Ellis, said "We know that hate crime has been under-reported in the past, but we believe that an increase in the number of hate crimes, such as disability hate crime and recorded racist incidents, being reported shows we are starting to have a positive impact.  Only by increasing reporting can we gain a full understanding of the extent of hate crime and it is for this reason that I urge victims and witnesses to continue to come forward to report incidents to the police or to any third party reporting agencies across the county."

ACPO lead on equality, diversity and human rights, Chief Constable Stephen Otter, said: 'Hate crimes cause a great deal of fear among victims and communities. We are determined to reduce the harm caused by hate crime and as a service we have listened to victims’ groups who have told us that by publishing this data, confidence in the police and the wider criminal justice system would be improved'