Hate crime against the LGBT community in Southwark fell by eleven per cent last year, according to police data, writes Kirsty Purnell…
There were 93 recorded crimes in the borough in 2016, compared with 104 in 2015.
Southwark bucks the trend in London, where recorded LGBT hate crimes spiked by thirteen per cent last year.
However, research shows that the majority of hate crime victims do not report their experiences, with just fourteen per cent of LGBT victims of hate crime reporting their most recent experience to the police.
With LGBT History month well underway and celebrating its 50th anniversary, Southwark and Lambeth Labour Assembly Member Florence Eshalomi is urging victims and witnesses to report hate crime. She said: “There is overwhelming evidence that hate crimes, particularly those committed against the LGBT+ community, are woefully under-reported. We need to turn that around.
“The more information the police have, the better chance we stand of ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice.
“Many people aren’t aware that a hate crime does not have to be committed against them directly in order for it to be reported – they can tell the police what they witnessed too.”