Race hate crime numbers in North third highest on record

By Rebecca Black, PA

The number of race hate incidents recorded in Northern Ireland over the last year is the third highest on record, according to police figures.

Across the board, the number of race, sexual orientation and transgender identity incidents were up from October 1st, 2024 to September 30th, 2025 compared to the previous 12 months.

However crimes with race-hate motivation saw the biggest increase, according to the figures published on Thursday.

The 12-month period included a period of rioting across Northern Ireland in June, which came after two Romanian-speaking teenagers were charged with attempted rape after allegedly sexually assaulting a teenage girl in Ballymena.

Across the 12 months, the Police Service of Northern Ireland recorded 270 more race incidents and 112 more race crimes.

They found the number of both race incidents (2,048) and race crimes (1,280) are the third highest 12-month levels recorded since the data series began in 2004/05.

Four of the five highest monthly levels of race incidents were recorded between June and September 2025 which coincides with disorder spreading from Ballymena, to Larne, Belfast and Portadown.

According to the statistics, the 347 race incidents recorded in June 2025 were the second highest monthly level in the data series, two lower than the 349 race incidents recorded in August 2024.

The number of sexual orientation incidents rose from 359 to 363 and crimes fell from 221 to 215, and transgender identity incidents and crimes rose from 61 to 68 and from 31 to 39 respectively.

Elsewhere, there was a decrease of five sectarian incidents, while the number of crimes rose by 22, disability incidents decreased by one from 78 to 77 and crimes increased from 42 to 45.

Faith/religion incidents and crimes fell from 109 to 76 and from 74 to 54 respectively.

Amnesty International slammed a “shameful year” and urged Stormont to author a new anti-racism strategy.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland director, called for action.

“This has been a shameful year of racist violence – from the targeting of families in Ballymena and other towns this summer to daily attacks on homes right across Northern Ireland,” he said.

“Behind every shocking statistic, there is a real person or family left living in fear.

“Yet too many politicians have echoed anti-migrant misinformation that provides the backdrop to these attacks, rather than stand with the victims of hate crimes.

“Meanwhile, the Executive’s under-powered 2015-25 Race Equality Strategy has been a dismal failure. It expires in a month, with no agreed plan in place to follow.

“We urgently need a bold action plan to confront and dismantle the toxic prejudice that has been allowed to take root across Northern Ireland.”