HATE crimes in Wiltshire increased by a third in 2018, compared to the year before.
A spike in May contributed to the rise from 510 in 2017 to 692 in 2018 offences in which people are victims due to prejudice against them for reasons including their race, religion, sexual orientation.
Wiltshire Police Panel confirmed there is a focus on hate crime across police forces nationally, in connection with ongoing uncertainty over Brexit.
Wiltshire's Hate Crime Multi Agency has investigated the spike and found that incidents have occurred throughout the county and were not more common in town or village.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel