Hate Crime in Suffolk: Understanding prevalence and support needs

This research project was commissioned by the Suffolk Hate Crime Partnership with funding allocated to them from the Ministry of Justice. The aim of the project was to provide independent evidence of: the prevalence of Hate Crime in Suffolk; and the needs of victims and communities affected by Hate Crime across the victimisation themes of race, allegiance to a faith, sexuality, gender identity and disability.
For this project, Hate Crime1 encompasses both hate incidents and Hate Crimes as defined by the Association of Chief Police Officers relating to race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.
The methodology included: a literature review and documentary analysis; analysis of reported Hate Crime and estimating unreported Hate Crime; survey of communities vulnerable to Hate Crime; interviews and focus groups with individuals from communities vulnerable to Hate Crime; interviews with representatives from local agencies and a workshop with representatives from local agencies. Findings from the survey, interviews, focus group and workshop findings should be treated with caution given the relatively small sample of individuals involved. The quantitative data used in the study was affected by the quality and consistency of recording.
This summary draws together the key findings from the study and three recommendations for local agencies to implement.