Half of all Ireland's reported hate crimes last year occurred in Dublin.
It follows a number of high profile assaults on members of the LGBTQ+ community in Dublin's city centre. In the most recent of which, a man was left with a bloody face after he was attacked by homophobic thugs on a Dublin bus.
In total, 448 hate crimes & hate related (non-crime) incidents recorded in 2021. Of these, 389 were hate crimes and 59 were hate related incidents.
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Gardai published the figures on Hate Crimes and Hate Related (non-crime) Incidents reported in 2021 today/
A total of 483 discriminatory motives were recorded (some incidents have more than one discriminatory motive). The most prevalent discriminatory motive was race (44%), followed by Sexual Orientation (15%) and Nationality (14%).
Hate motives were evident in a range of crimes in 2021, the largest percentage being Public Order (35%), Minor Assaults (18%) and Criminal Damage (11%).
The largest proportion of hate related incidents (50%) reported in 2021 occurred in the Dublin Metropolitan Region. Across the other three operational regions there are quite similar proportions of incidents evident – Southern Region (19%), North-Western Region (16%) Eastern Region (15%).
Assistant Commissioner Paula Hilman said: "The definitions and recording practices launched in late 2020, are enabling us to gain greater insight into these discriminatory motives and respond accordingly. The release of figures today is the first following the introduction of new procedures, introduced under the Garda Diversity and Integration Strategy, which have enabled the establishment of a verified baseline to be used from 2021 onwards”.
She added: "Everyone has a right to live safely. Hate crimes have a huge impact on victims, because they are targeted because of who they are, and they also have a significant impact on the wider community.
"I want to thank that wider community, NGOs and the media for consistently highlighting the issue of hate crime, and 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."
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