AN AVERAGE of seven hate crimes are committed across Wales every day, new figures have revealed.

Since 2005, Welsh police forces have recorded nearly 13,000 incidents which were perceived by the victim to be motivated by prejudice or hate.

More than 80% of the alleged offences took place in South Wales with Wales’ largest police force recording 8,177 racially-related incidents and 1,545 offences thought to be triggered by homophobic prejudices.

The data, which was released under the Freedom of Information Act, reveals a marked variation between the locations where hate crimes have been committed, with just 98 incidents recorded in the Dyfed-Powys force area compared to 2,165 in North Wales and 10,723 in South Wales. Figures from Gwent Police were yesterday unavailable.

Campaigners and anti-hate crime groups last night hailed the rise in reports in the south of the country – some categories of which have risen by as much as 300% – saying they showed an increased awareness of hate crimes.

Yet they also called for better training to be given to police who are said to “often ignore” the context behind an offence.

The latest figures come a week after the Safer Wales charity raised fears the situation could be significantly worse than it is with just one in 10 disability hate crimes and 25% of homophobic and racist hate crimes thought to be actually reported.

“I speak to people on a daily basis who are afraid to even go out of their homes because they’re scared their neighbours might verbally abuse them, or they are scared to use public transport because of the looks they will get from the driver and other passengers. There are even a lot of people who certainly wouldn’t even consider going out for a drink in the night time economy because they’re afraid of the reception they will get from people.”

He added: “Hate crime, especially disability hate crime is still vastly underreported. The police, particularly in South Wales, are doing a lot better job than they used to but there are still some officers who just don’t have the right training.

“I’ve heard of officers concerned that they will offend someone if they ask whether the crime could be related to a disability and so it doesn’t get properly reported. That’s not good enough and that’s why disability equality training is needed.”

Chief Superintendent Alun Thomas of South Wales Police said the force was working hard to tackle the issue of hate crime and that the rise in recorded incidents was reflective of that work.

“I see these figures as a positive,” he said.

“It may sound perverse, but it shows that the public are increasingly confident in reporting hate crimes whereas in the past they have gone unreported.

“We constantly try to encourage an increase in reporting and confidence among our victims that any hate crime, be it from any strand of diversity, will be properly investigated.

“Thankfully that work seems to be paying off because we now have a well-informed picture of the situation and this enables us to give a better service.”

He added: “There’s no trend in relation to victims that we are aware of and thanks to our forums and the work we do with our partners we have a good idea of what is going on either if it doesn’t get reported.

“This work allows us to react to anything even if it is not recognised.”