The UK Is About To List This As A 'Hate Crime' And People Are Not Happy

The number of hate crimes recorded by regional police forces rose by up to 100 percent in the months following the Brexit vote, new figures show.

The Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom is looking to change what they consider to be a hate crime.

The police and Crown Prosecution Service have agreed on a common definition of hate incidents.

They say something is a hate incident if the victim or anyone else thinks it was motivated by hostility or prejudice based on one of the following things:

disability

race

religion

transgender identity

sexual orientation.

Hate incidents can take many forms. Here are examples of hate incidents:

verbal abuse like name-calling and offensive jokes

harassment

bullying or intimidation by children, adults, neighbors or strangers

physical attacks such as hitting, punching, pushing, spitting

threats of violence

hoax calls, abusive phone or text messages, hate mail

online abuse for example on Facebook or Twitter

displaying or circulating discriminatory literature or posters

harm or damage to things such as your home, pet, vehicle

graffiti

arson

throwing rubbish into a garden

malicious complaints about example over parking smells or noise.

According to the police,

If anyone is being targeted because of their race, sexual orientation, or something else such as being goth, then that is considered to be a hate crime.

Incidents like street harassment, verbal abuse, and taking pictures without consent were recorded in a trial conducted by the Nottinghamshire Police.

These carried tougher penalties for offenders.

The authorities believe that stopping misogynistic remarks could go a long way towards reducing sexual violence in general.

While this new project has been appreciated and adored by some, others on social media have stated that remarks such as catcalling are very different from sexual assault and violence.

If you’ve experienced a hate incident or crime you can report it to the police.

If you are targeted due to race, sexual orientation, disability or something else like being goth, it's considered a hate crime.

You can also report a hate incident or crime even if it wasn’t directed at you.

For example, you could be a friend, neighbor, family member, support worker or simply a passer-by.