Sussex Police said that the force welcomed the rise in the number hate crimes reported over the past year.
The number of reported hate crimes rose by more than a third, the force said, reflecting growing confidence in the police among victims.
In 2014-15 – from the start of April last year to the end of March – the number of recorded hate crimes rose from 1,009 to 1,352.
As well as the 34 per cent rise in hate crimes, the number of related non-criminal incidents rose from 299 to 447, an increase of almost 50 per cent.
Sussex Police recorded a rise in five hate crime categories – the 2013-14 figures are in brackets.
- Disability 106 (80)
- Race 961 (731)
- Religion 106 (71)
- Sexual orientation 230 (144)
- Transgender 28 (24)
The total adds up to more than 1,352 because some of the incidents are counted under more than one heading.
The non-criminal hate incidents were also broken down into five categories.
- Disability 56 (37)
- Race 245 (182)
- Religion 45 (30)
- Sexual orientation 94 (51)
- Transgender 20 (16)
Chief Superintendent Wayne Jones said: “We know that hate crimes and incidents in Sussex have been under-reported.
“Our goal remains to build confidence in victims to come forward and speak to us which is why I welcome these increases. These also follow a large increase last year (28 per cent).
“We have worked very hard, both internally and externally, to raise awareness of what constitutes hate crime and how people can report it to us.
“I am confident that the positive work we have done is a significant factor in the increased levels of recorded hate crime.
“I do acknowledge, however, that events that occur outside Sussex, and sometimes outside the country, can have an impact on the incidence of hate crime within the county.
“Our neighbourhood policing teams are firmly embedded in local communities and work with them to offer reassurance and support.
“If you have been a victim of or have witnessed a hate crime, I would urge you to call us on 101 or 999 if it is an emergency.
“For those who would prefer, you can use our online reporting form http://bit.ly/1fTDYJh which can be found on our website.”
Sergeant Peter Allan, force hate crime sergeant, said: “I am pleased to see that we have recorded more hate crimes and incidents over the last year, especially in the area of disability, which is a particular challenge for all the criminal justice agencies.
“To enable us to tackle this most personal of crimes and support victims, we need people to come forward to report incidents to us. I would urge them to do so.
“During the coming year, as well as continuing the work already mentioned, we will be working to understand the levels of hate crime at a sub-strand level, for example, the number of crimes and incidents that target different faiths, ethnic groups and types of disability.
“We will also be focusing on the outcomes of cases, especially how many cases at court are subject to a sentence uplift.”
Beverley Smith, a co-ordinator of the Disability Hate Crime Network, said: “Disability hate crime is hugely under-reported in the UK for a number of reasons.
“The successful work that Sussex Police continue to do to improve confidence in reporting is showing sustained increases in the number of reports to them.
“I am pleased to be working with Sussex Police to support their work.
“Hatred and hostility is not a part of the deal of being a disabled person.
“I urge people to report all incidents and crimes to the police so that these can be properly dealt with.”
Not wanting to say that Sussex Police are intellectually bankrupt,
but they are saying this is “good” because it means more people are REPORTING crime. How do they know it doesn’t just mean there is MORE CRIME? Their premise is that they know how much unreported crime there is. How can they know the magnitude of this known unknown?