Hate crimes are incidents or crimes against someone based on a part of their identity: their disability, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or gender identity. Similar to many of the crimes discussed under the People in Cardiff Are Safe and Feel Safe Outcome, they can have an impact on an individual’s feeling of safety in their own home, and personal well-being, but can also escalate to have a wider impact on community tensions.
In Cardiff, the number of hate incidents reported has increased over the last few years and in 2015/16 there was an 11% rise in the number of recorded Hate Crimes compared to the previous year. However, this could include the effects of increased reporting. A comparison of the total number of hate crimes shows that South Wales is a mid-performing police force area. Whilst there are areas with higher levels of hate crime, there are also areas with significantly lower levels, such as the Northumbria Police Force area which includes Newcastle Upon Tyne.