NEARLY 400 sexual orientation hate crimes were reported to Dorset Police in the space of three years, figures have revealed.

Dorset Police was one of 36 police forces to provide data to PA about hate crimes based on sexually orientation.

The force revealed 132 sexual orientation hate crimes were recorded in 2019, 136 in 2020 and 200 from January to August 2021.

Some 27 transphobic hate crimes were recorded in 2019, 25 in 2020 and 12 in January to August 2021.

The highest number of sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month across this period was 25 in April 2021; for transphobic hate crimes it was seven in September 2019.

A total of 71 violence against the person sexual orientation hate crimes were recorded in 2019, with 82 in 2020 and 48 from January to August 2021.

There were 15 violent transphobic hate crimes recorded in 2019, 17 in 2020 and eight in January-August 2021.

The highest number of violent sexual orientation hate crimes in a calendar month was 12 in August 2021; for violent transphobic hate crimes it was four in July 2019.

Superintendent Gemma Morris, of Dorset Police, said: “Dorset Police takes every report of crime seriously, especially hate crimes, which receives a significant level of supervision and scrutiny.

“As a police force we are committed to supporting victims of crime and bringing offenders to justice. We work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure offenders who are prosecuted for a hate crime receive an increased sentence, in line with the legislation.

“We know from the crime survey for England and Wales that hate crimes are widely unreported and we are focused on reducing the gap between the survey and reported crime by building trust and confidence with our communities and by ensuring that reporting methods are widely known.

“Dorset Police and third-party reporting centres have used awareness campaigns to make it clear that hate crimes will not be tolerated and to report matters to the police. An example of one of the campaigns can be found here: https://youtu.be/nvTq2O04Aqs.

“The message is very clear, hate crimes are not tolerated in our communities. If you are a victim or witness of a hate crime or incident, please report it to Dorset Police online at dorset.police.uk/do-it-online and click on the ‘Report a hate crime’ button. Alternatively, if you wish to speak to someone, call 101. In an emergency always dial 999.”