DYFED-POWYS Police 'anticipated trouble' between English and Welsh residents through lockdown

The report comes after racially and religiously aggravated offences recorded by police in England and Wales hit a new high in 2020, with more than a quarter of investigations closed without forces identifying a suspect.

The impact of the coronavirus lockdown, along with protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, were two of the main factors named by forces as helping to drive the increase in offences, along with improved recording of hate crimes.

A total of 61,851 racially and religiously aggravated offences were recorded in 2020, up seven per cent from 57,825 in 2019.

This is also more than double the 28,479 offences recorded in 2013, the first calendar year for which comparable data is available.

Regarding the impact of lockdown, Dyfed-Powys Police said it had anticipated an increase in offences last year following a number of "significant events", including "community tensions around English on Welsh and Welsh on English crimes" during the lockdown along with "protests supporting the Black Lives Matter movement".

The figures cover all forces in England and Wales except Greater Manchester Police.

Of the 43 forces that did provide complete data, 33 reported a rise in racially and religiously aggravated offences from 2019 to 2020, while 30 forces said numbers last year reached a new high.

The offences – all of which are defined as hate crimes – include racially or religiously aggravated assault, harassment and criminal damage.

Independent charity Victim Support called the figures "shocking" and said it was "huge cause for concern that so many cases are left unsolved", while the Equality and Human Rights Commission warned that although the police had taken "positive steps" in the recording of hate crime, "more still needs to be done to improve the process and the quality of support for victims".

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) said forces had worked hard to improve their handling of hate crime, including better recording of offences, adding: "We are working with forces to help them understand and improve the service they provide to victims."

Meanwhile just over a quarter (27 per cent) of racially and religiously aggravated offences recorded in 2020 were closed without police identifying a suspect, analysis shows.

This is an improvement on 2019, when around three in 10 (31 per cent) were shut with no suspect in the frame.