Hate crime based on a person’s sexual orientation or race is on the increase in York and North Yorkshire.
But transphobic offences have dropped.
YorkMix has obtained figures from North Yorkshire Police showing the number of reported offences, after people campaigning for a late night York LGBTQ venue said they were suffering from increased abuse.
The owners of Little J on North Street stated in submissions for a licensing application that extending its opening hours would give LGBTQ people somewhere to socialise without fear of being targeted at night.
Several of those who spoke at a council meeting described homophobic abuse being directed at them or their friends.
Sexual orientation hate crimes in York and North Yorkshire
| Length of stay | Sun-Thurs now | Sun-Thurs proposed | Fri, Sat & events now | Fri, Sat & events now | Minster Badge Sun-Thurs now | Minster Badge Sun-Thurs proposed | Minster Badge Fri, Sat, events now | Minster Badge Fri, Sat, events now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 hr | £4.85 | £5.00 | £5.30 | £5.50 | £3.40 | £3.50 | £3.70 | £3.90 |
| 2 hr | £9.70 | £10.00 | £10.60 | £10.90 | £6.80 | £7.00 | £7.40 | £7.60 |
| 3 hr | £11.20 | £11.50 | £13.50 | £13.90 | £7.80 | £8.10 | £9.50 | £9.70 |
| 4 hr | £14.90 | £15.30 | £17.50 | £18.00 | £10.40 | £10.70 | £12.30 | £12.60 |
| 5 hr | £18.60 | £19.20 | £21.50 | £22.10 | £13.00 | £13.40 | £15.10 | £15.50 |
| All day | £22.50 | £25.00 | £15.80 | £17.50 | ||||
| Additional hour | £3.80 | £4.10 | £2.70 | £2.90 | ||||
| Evening* | £4.00 | £4.80 | £2.00 | £2.00 |
It comes after the flagging campaign saw hundreds of England flags illegally attached to lampposts across York. Pride flags were removed as Joseph Moulton of the Flag Force campaign told YorkMix “it represents a very poisonous ideology”.
At a subsequent licensing hearing, Sgt Nigel Collins, who oversees hate crime reports at North Yorkshire Police, said he understood the concerns of the LGBTQ community.
He added that the figures “do not indicate a growing problem or one that has spiralled or seen any sudden spikes in relation to it”.
While there hasn’t been a spike, figures for January-August this year compared to the same period last year do show an increase, as the table above shows.
Force-wide, sexual orientation hate crimes have increased from 143 to 167 (+16%). And in York the number has risen from 64 to 71 (+11%).
But transphobic offences had dropped from 40 to 21 across the force (-47%), and from 12 to eight in York (-33%).
Hate crimes North Yorkshire 2024-25
[table “1481” not found /]Hate crimes generally have increased in North Yorkshire as the table above shows. This is from a report to North Yorkshire Council and covers a different time period, but shows an increase in sexual orientation crime and racial hate crime.
Chair of the corporate and partnerships overview and scrutiny committee, which discussed the figures, Cllr Andrew Williams, told YorkMix: “I’d like to see prosecutions being taken very rigorously and firmly against anybody who are perpetrating these vile acts.
“Everybody in North Yorkshire, regardless of their sexual orientation, their race or their gender is entitled to live safely and without fear.”
‘Hate crime must never be tolerated’
Sergeant Collins of North Yorkshire Police’s Hate Crime Team, told YorkMix that the force had a robust strategy for tackling the issue.
He said: “Targeting hate towards an individual or groups of people because of their sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or disability is a criminal offence and must never be tolerated.
“We all have a part to play in tackling it through education, raising public awareness and robust enforcement.
“My role and that of my team includes responsibility for reviewing all the reports of hate crime received by North Yorkshire Police, ensuring that it is correctly recorded and investigated and that suitable support is offered and provided to the victims of hate crime.
“We also carry out training in hate crime awareness for both our own officers and staff and for external agencies.
“We meet regularly with partners and engage with our communities at various event and meetings to continue the good relationships that have been built over the years to ensure we have the trust and confidence of our communities so that they will report matters to the police when it occurs.
“As I have previously said, one victim of hate crime, is one too many and I welcome approaches from all community groups so we can understand how they feel and work towards making them feel safer and feel confident to report the concerns they have.
“We encourage victims to come forward to report hate crime. They can have full confidence in the professional support available in North Yorkshire and the city of York.”
