Gardaí report rise in hate crimes across western region
An Garda Síochána has today published figures on Hate Crimes and Hate Related (non-crime) Incidents reported in 2022.
An Garda Síochána policy is that "Reports of Hate Crimes or Hate Incidents will be recorded and investigated as appropriate, where it is perceived that the perpetrator’s hostility or prejudice against any person, community or institution is on the grounds of the victim’s age, disability, race, colour, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation or gender."
A total of 617 (483 in 2021) discriminatory motives were recorded (some incidents have more than one discriminatory motive).
The most prevalent discriminatory motive was race (32%), followed by sexual orientation (22%) and nationality (21%).
Incidents were recorded across all nine discriminatory motives.
Hate motives were evident in a range of incidents in 2022, the largest percentage being public order (30%), minor assaults (20%), assault causing harm (9%) and criminal damage (8%).
The largest proportion of hate related incidents (47%) reported in 2022 occurred in the Dublin Metropolitan Region.
Across the other three operational regions there are quite similar proportions of incidents evident – Southern Region (15%), North-Western Region (20%) Eastern Region (18%).
An Garda Síochána continues to invest in its network of diversity officers.
There are 481 diversity officers across the organisation.
During 2022 An Garda Síochána implemented a Hate Crime ELearning Programme developed in conjunction with NGOs. This programme has been completed by 83.2% of all Garda members.
Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman, whose remit includes the Garda National Diversity and Integration Unit, welcomed the publication of the 2022 statistics.
She said: "An Garda Síochána continues to have a strong focus on investigating crimes with a hate motive and supporting the victims of these crimes.
"An Garda Síochána recognises that hate crimes have a huge impact on victims, specifically because they are targeted because of a characteristic of who they are. These crimes also have a significant impact on wider communities and society”.
Assistant Commissioner Hilman added ”These statistics of incidents reported to An Garda Síochána in 2022 with a hate motive build on the baseline figures published for 2021. The level of reporting has increased overall. While it is disappointing that any incidents occur which have a hate related motive, it is positive to see more victims coming forward to An Garda Síochána and reporting their experiences.”
Assistant Commissioner Hilman further highlighted that "We all need as a community to consistently highlight and call out discrimination and hate where it occurs. I urge any person who has experienced or observed prejudice to come forward and report those incidents to us. I can assure people that complaints will be dealt with thoroughly and professionally.”