The number of hate crimes recorded by police has more than tripled over the last decade and is now at a new record high.
Increasing numbers of racially and religiously motivated incidents were among the 1,415 hate offences recorded by Norfolk police in the year ending March 2022.
The number was up from 1,362 crimes reported in 2019/20 and a third higher than the number of incidents four years ago with children as young as two being victims.
Norfolk police said greater awareness of what constitutes hate and national and even international events had influenced greater reporting.
“Greater confidence to approach the police around these types of crimes is also likely to have had an impact on the figures and we are working with different communities to understand their fears,” it added.
The 2016 EU referendum, terror attacks in 2017 and Black Lives Matters and Covid protests in 2020 are all considered to have been behind short-term rises in hate crime reports over the last few years.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and England’s defeat at the Euro football championships in July 2021 are likely to have contributed to the latest rise.
Incidents in Norfolk have included anti-immigrant leaflets distributed by far-right extremists, Nazi swastikas daubed on Ukrainian flags, and a complaint over a "pro-slavery" Confederate flag being flown in a Norwich garden.
The latest figures show the majority of hate crimes continue to be racially motivated, 847 in total, accounting for 60pc of offences recorded.
Jabeer Butt, of the Race Equality Foundation, said: “Alarm bells should be ringing for anyone looking at these figures.”
Religious hate crimes rose by 60pc with 88 reports. Sexual orientation hate crimes increased by a quarter to 299, while those motivated by disability rose from 186 to 199.
Despite the heated and often fractious debate over transgender issues, reports of transphobia actually fell in Norfolk from 78 to 63.
Some crimes fall into more than one of these categories.
Figures have consistently risen since 2012/13, though the increase seen in Norfolk last year was less than the 26pc increase seen nationally with 155,841 offences recorded by forces in England and Wales.
Diana Fawcett, chief executive at charity Victim Support, said: “We regularly see spikes in hate crime linked to world events. The past year has been no different – the war in Ukraine, along with debates around domestic policy and polarising discussions on social media all feed into how we see the world.
“So, while it’s impossible to point to anything specifically that may have caused the rise, we know that hate crime is fuelled by what’s happening in society at large.”
She also described hate on social media as “pervasive and insidious” because it affects anyone from a “targeted community” who sees such comments.
Norfolk police admitted that hate crime is often under-reported and said it was working closely with Norfolk County Council on Stop Hate in Norfolk (SHiN), a tool that makes it easier to report such incidents.
“While all crime is damaging to society, hate crime can seriously undermine the confidence and quality of life for people and wider communities,” said a spokesperson.
“Everyone should have the right to feel safe and live without fear of discrimination. Where hate crimes are committed, for example someone being assaulted or verbally abused because of the colour of their skin or sexual preference, it’s only right we take action.”
• To report a hate incident, call 999 in an emergency, 101 for non-emergencies or use the SHiN online reporting tool
Analysis: Nastier than ever? What’s fuelling rises in hate crimes
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here