Police is releasing its responses to some recent Official Information Act requests where it is considered they contain data and information that has wider public interest.

DISCLAIMER: The data shown does not mean that hate has been proven to be a motivating factor. As of 2019 NZ Police can record ‘hate’ as a motivating factor to any crime or non-criminal incident. As such, an increase of reports since 2019 does not necessarily mean the overall level of hate-motivated crime in New Zealand has grown, but rather could reflect increased awareness, improved reporting, and recording of these crimes. It will be several years until the underlying level of hate-motivated crime in New Zealand becomes clear through the data.

NZ Police record all reported hate-motivated crimes and incidents based on a person’s perception. This means if anyone, including the call taker, police officer, victim or witness believe that a crime was motivated by bias or prejudice, it will be flagged in the Police system as ‘perceived hate’. Any further investigation carried out or subsequent Court proceedings (with consideration of s9(1)(h) of the Sentencing Act 2002) may determine whether hate is confirmed as the motivation for the offence. If investigated and ‘hate’ is determined not a motivating factor, then the flag may be removed.

Note: The data shown in the respective responses was accurate at the time it was compiled. Given the dynamic nature of Police systems (and the possibility of a future investigation) outcomes, records and data may have changed (or could change in the future) since the data was originally released.

Visit the www.police.govt/hate.