Reported hate crimes from January 2020 to August 2021

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.21.020576

I note you seek access to the following information:

I am seeking data for the following years:
• 2020
• 2021 (to date)

1. How many hate crimes have been reported since 1 January 2020 to date?

2. How many hate crimes in relation to skin-colour have been reported since 1 January 2020 to date?
a. How many reported hate crimes involved the life of the victim being threatened since 1 January 2020 to date?

3. What is the average age of the victims of the reported hate crimes?

4. How many of the reported crimes since 1 January 2020 to date have been unresolved/resolved/resolved to extent/unable to resolve?
- For clarification:
 Unresolved: for any reason, the MET hasn’t been able to resolve the complaint.
 Resolved: the aggressor(s)/culprit(s) have been arrested/questioned/apprehended; there has been a positive outcome for the victim.
 Resolved To Extent: the aggressor(s)/culprit(s) have been apprehended in some ways (whether called to be interrogated or arrested), but there hasn’t been a positive outcome as such for the victim.
 Unable to resolve: Not enough evidence which makes it impossible to take the investigation further.

5. Divided by ethnic minority groups as shown below, how many have been victims of a hate crime?
a. Black
b. Asian
c. Latino
d. Mixed

6. What is the support offered by the MET police to those victims of a hate crime?

7. Amongst the following: religious, skin colour, sexual orientation, gender – which is it that counts the most reported hate crime?

Decision

I have today decided to disclose some of the requested information. Some data has been withheld as it is exempt from disclosure and therefore this response serves as a Refusal Notice under Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act) by virtue of the following exemptions:

Section 40(2)(3)&(4) – Personal Information

Reason for decision

Before I explain the reasons for the decisions I have made in relation to your request, I thought that it would be helpful if I outline the parameters set out by the Act within which a request for information can be answered. The Act creates a statutory right of access to information held by public authorities. A public authority in receipt of a request must, if permitted, confirm if the requested information is held by that public authority and, if so, then communicate that information to the applicant.

The right of access to information is not without exception and is subject to a number of exemptions which are designed to enable public authorities to withhold information that is not suitable for release. Importantly, the Act is designed to place information into the public domain, that is, once access to information is granted to one person under the Act, it is then considered public information and must be communicated to any individual should a request be received.

Details of an investigation could cause an individual to be identified and is therefore exempted in this case.
Section 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018 confirms that information which relates to an identified or identifiable living individual is Personal Data.

The Freedom of Information Act provides an exemption for Personal Data and this is known as the section 40 exemption.

Some of the information sought under your Freedom of Information request includes the following which we consider to be Personal Data

• Low numbers of offences that could, if disclosed, identify an individual.

Where the request is seeking access to third party personal data the section 40(2) exemption may be engaged.

In order to apply the Section 40(2) exemption the disclosure of the requested information must satisfy either the first, second or third conditions as defined by subsections 3A, 3B and 4A of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (as amended by Section 58 of the Data Protection Act 2018).
The first condition ensures that the exemption would apply in circumstances where the disclosure of the information would breach any of the Data Protection Act 2018 principles.
There are six Data Protection principles set out in the 2018 act and these can be found at section 34.
In this instance I have decided that the disclosure of the Personal Data would be incompatible with the first Data Protection principle which states that the processing (in this case the disclosure) of the data must be both lawful and fair.

The basis for determining whether such a disclosure would be lawful and fair is outlined under section 35 of the 2018 act which states that the subject of the data must have given his/her consent for disclosure or the processing must be necessary for the performance of a task carried out by a competent authority. As we do not have consent for the disclosure of personal data and the disclosure is not necessary for any law enforcement purposes it would not be considered lawful processing.

Such a disclosure would therefore contravene the first data protection principle.
I have applied the exemption provided under Section 40(2) of the Freedom of Information Act to this information as the first condition, defined in subsection 3(A)(a) of Section 40 has been satisfied.

Disclosure

The harm of disclosure is reduced by redacting the low numbers. Please find attached a file titled 21_020576v3 this report answers questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 pursuant to your request for information.

Table titled - All Hate Crime Offences with Outcomes between 01/01/2020 to 31/08/2021.

• I have removed the month and year from the data as numbers are low and individuals could be identified.

Table titled - All Hate Crime Victims between 01/01/2020 to 31/08/2021.

• I have removed the month and year from the data as numbers are low and individuals could be identified.

Table titled - Racial Hate Crime Offences with Life Threatened between 01/01/2020 to 31/08/2021.

• I have removed data for Offensive weapon, other violence and Serious Wounding from the data as numbers are low and individuals could be identified.

Q6 - What is the support offered by the MET police to those victims of a hate crime?

As part of the Met’s continued commitment to tackling all forms of Hate Crime, the 124H Risk Assessment was launched in November 2020. It provides a mandatory, standardised and consistent approach when dealing with hate crime and helps to identify the level of risk to the victim when considering appropriate safeguarding measures. Completion of the 124H ensures all victims of hate crime receive an enhanced level of service, ensuring their safety.

A Victim must be offered a referral to CATCH for every hate crime or incident. CATCH is a group of charities working to end hate crime who give specialist advice and help to all victims of hate crime.

Officers can refer victims to CATCH, who will provide victims with the most suitable support for their circumstances.

Some of the services CATCH offer include:
• Provide a safe space to talk
• Explore the options available to the victim
• Advise on a victims rights and how to use them
• Support a victim to report to police if they have not done so already
• Support through the Criminal Justice procedure
• Give guidance on applying for financial compensation for victims of crime
• Provide practical advice to make victims feel safe
• Help access other support and services required, such as counselling or housing