Date:
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has published its annual statistical bulletin: ‘Cases Involving Hate Crime 2025/26’.
The bulletin is set out in two parts, reflecting the two distinct definitions applied in cases involving hate crime, as recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the PPS. In Part One key statistics are presented in relation to cases involving hate crime submitted to the PPS by the PSNI, while in Part Two key statistics are presented in relation to cases considered by a Prosecutor to have involved hate crime which was ‘aggravated by hostility’.
The key findings include:
Part One: Cases Involving Hate Crime Submitted by the PSNI
- During the 2025/26 financial year, the PPS received 492 files involving hate crime. This was an increase of 103 on 2024/25 (389).
- Of the 492 files received in 2025/26, 299 (60.8%) related to racial crimes, with a further 60 files (12.2%) relating to sectarian crimes.
- The majority of files received fell into the category ‘violence against the person’ (48.0%). The number of cases involving violent offences increased by 14.0%, from 207 in 2024/25 to 236 in 2025/26.
- Prosecutorial decisions were issued in respect of 548 persons, an increase of 20.2% on 2024/25 (456).
- 17 of the 18 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court were convicted of at least one offence, while the conviction rate in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts was 61.4%.
Part Two: Cases Considered by a PPS Prosecutor to have Involved Hate Crime which was ‘Aggravated by Hostility’
- The PPS issued 406 prosecutorial decisions in 2025/26, of which over four-fifths (88.2%) were for prosecution (334) or diversion from the courts (24). This compares with the 296 prosecutorial decisions issued in 2024/25, of which 79.4% were for prosecution (220) or diversion from the courts (15).
- The majority of the 406 decisions issued in 2025/26 related to offences which were either aggravated on the basis of race (251) or religion (96). 42 decisions related to offences aggravated on the basis of sexual orientation. The remaining decisions related to offences aggravated on the basis of disability or multiple motivations.
- All of the 19 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court in 2025/26 were convicted of at least one offence. Just over three-quarters (76.8%) of those dealt with in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts were convicted, less than in 2024/25 (79.9%).
- Of the total of 204 defendants convicted during 2025/26, 95 were recorded as having received an enhanced sentence due to the aggravating feature of their offence(s).