• The latest figures from the PSNI, which covers the 12-month period until the end of June, state that 1,329 crimes with a race motivation were recorded during that time.
  • This is an increase of 434 on the prior year’s total of 895 – a rise of 48.5%.
  • During this period, police recorded more than twice as many crimes based on race than sectarian crimes.
  • Overall this represents the highest total of racist crimes over a 12-month period in Northern Ireland since records began.

During a discussion about crimes with a racist motivation on the 29 October episode of BBC Radio Ulster’s Good Morning Ulster, presenter Sarah Brett claimed:

“The figures are absolutely staggering for this year … It’s 1,329 crimes with a race motivation in the last year, up 434 year on year.”

This is supported by evidence.

According to data from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), in the most recent 12-months for which figures are available – the year up until 30 June this year – there were 1,329 crimes with a racist motivation.

This is the highest figure for any 12-month period since records began in 2004-05, and represents an increase of 434 on the previous year.

During the prior 12 months, police recorded 895 crimes with a race motivation – the increase of 434 in the following year equates to a rise of 48.5%.

Racist crimes in the most recent year represented 1.4% of all police recorded crime. There were more than twice as many crimes with a race motivation than there were sectarian crimes (611) in the past 12 months.

For more details, read on.

  • Source

FactCheckNI contacted Ms Brett about this claim. She said these figures had appeared in a BBC News NI article and were based on PSNI figures.

  • What is hate crime?

According to the PSNI:

“A hate and signal crime or incident will be recorded where it is perceived that the perpetrator’s hostility or prejudice against any person or property is on the grounds of the victim’s ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, sectarianism or disability.”

  • Statistical claim

Official figures on Hate Motivation Statistics are provided quarterly by the PSNI. This includes information both on crimes and recorded incidents with a hate motivation.

The latest data was published on 28 August and covers the year up to 30 June this year.

It indicates that, over that 12-month period, a total of 2,049 race incidents were recorded, an increase of 646 year on year. In the same timeframe, 1,329 racially-motivated crimes were recorded, an increase of 434 on the prior year – which provides evidence to support the claim.

This represented a record high for both racist crimes and racist incidents in a 12-month period since records began in 2004-05.

Police recorded 895 crimes with a race motivation during the previous 12 months (up to the end of June 2024). This means the increase of 434 in the past year equates to a rise of 48.5%. According to the PSNI, the most recent year’s data indicates that:

“Race crimes represented 1.4% of all police recorded crime.”

Note that there is overlap between the statistics for racist crimes and racist incidents. The PSNI states:

“Not all race incidents will result in the recording of a crime, as what has occurred in the incident may not be of the level of severity that would result in a race crime being recorded. Some race incidents will result in multiple crimes being recorded. Race crimes are included in the incident count and the two should not be added together.”

  • Wider figures

Other findings from the latest statistical bulletin include that:

  • Four of the five highest monthly levels of race incidents in the data series were recorded between July 2024 and June 2025. The 349 race incidents recorded in August 2024 was the single highest monthly level in the data series, followed by the 345 race incidents recorded in June 2025.
  • While there were more race incidents when compared with the previous twelve months, there were fewer sexual orientation, sectarian, disability and transgender identity incidents.
  • Crimes with a race hate motivation saw the largest increase, with smaller increases also seen in sectarian and faith/religion identity crimes. Sexual orientation crimes saw the largest decrease, with smaller decreases in disability and transgender identity crimes. 

There are also tables and graphs showing how racist crimes and incidents were more common than their sectarian equivalents, as well as every other type of hate motivation.

Figure 1 – source: PSNI

Since records began in 2004-25, there have been significant rises and falls in the numbers of incidents and crimes within different 12-month periods, with current figures the highest of all.

Figure 2 – source: PSNI

Not every policing district within Northern Ireland saw an increase in racially-motivated crimes or incidents over the most recent year.

Figure 3 – source: PSNI

Overall, most crimes with a racist motivation involved violence against the person, with theft and/or criminal damage the second-most common.

Figure 4 – source: PSNI