This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Hundreds of hate crimes have been committed at or near schools and colleges in the last two years, most rooted in race and ethnicity, figures reveal.

Data from 29 police forces in England and Wales shows a rise in the number of hate crimes related to religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, and disability or transgender identity.

There were 1,487 crimes with a hate element at or near schools and colleges in the last two academic years, a Press Association investigation revealed. Of these, 919 occurred between September 2016 and July 2017 – about five for each day of the school year – and 568 for the same period of 2015-16.

When recording crimes, police can “flag” an offence as being motivated by the different categories. Forces were asked to provide details of hate-related offences that had taken place in their area where the location of the crime included the words “school” or “college”. In some cases, offences had more than one flag.

The figures show that by far the most common flag was race and ethnicity. In total, hate-related crimes were tagged with a race and ethnicity flag on 448 occasions in 2015-16, and on 661 occasions in 2016-17 – a 48% rise between the two years.

There were 57 religion and belief flags in 2015-16, rising to 78 the following year – up by more than a third (37%), while there were 41 sexual orientation flags in 2015-16 and 99 in 2016-17 – a 141% rise.

In addition, the number of disability flags rose 112% between the two years from 50 in 2015-16 to 106 in 2016-17.

The smallest category had the biggest rise: there were six transgender flags in 2015-16, and 16 the following year – up 167%.

Overall, across the two academic years, race and ethnicity accounted for 71% of flags, religion and beliefs 9%, sexual orientation 9%, disability 10%, and transgender identity 1%.

In some cases, crimes may have taken place near schools and colleges, rather than on school property, such as walking home from school, or a crime may have been logged with an educational establishment as the nearest reference point, or as happening close by – such as opposite a school.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the figures were “disturbing” and reflected a wider problem in society.



“Over the past 18 months, school leaders have told us of a number of incidents in which pupils have been subjected to racial abuse by members of the public, away from school premises, as they go about their daily lives,” he said.

“It is relatively rare for hate crimes to actually take place in schools and colleges. Indeed, schools and colleges are havens of good values, promoting tolerance and respect, and often serving diverse communities.

“They put strong systems in place to ensure that staff are confident in addressing any type of discriminatory behaviour and that students are confident that they will be listened to in reporting any incidents. They educate young people about the importance of tolerance and respect, and consult with police over any serious incidents which occur.

“At a time when it often seems that our society is worryingly divided, schools and colleges are doing a brilliant job in holding it together.”

It has been suggested that the increase could be due to improved recording systems by the police and to agencies working together.

Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for hate crime, said: “Hate crime, particularly among young people, undermines the diversity and tolerance that we should be celebrating.

“All police forces take a robust approach to reporting crime and reassuring victims. Significant efforts have been made to improve our recording systems and to enhance our partnerships with educators and charities that support victims.

Campaigners warned that the figures were a “wake-up call”.

Paul Twocock, Stonewall’s director of campaigns, policy and research, said: “While some people may suggest this spike is due to increased confidence in reporting, we fear these figures represent just the tip of the iceberg of a rise in hate crimes against LGBT people.”