Police chiefs have urged victims of homophobic and transphobic abuse to come forward after figures showed the number of hate crimes soared to their highest monthly level since the beginning of the pandemic, after lockdown restrictions were eased at the beginning of summer. Reports of sexual orientation hate crimes recorded by UK police forces rose from an average of 1,456 a month from January to April this year to 2,211 on average from May to August. From January to August this year, at least 14,670 homophobic hate crime offences were recorded, compared with 11,841 in the same period of 2020 and 10,817 in 2019. During the same time period, police recorded 2,129 transphobic offences – well above the 1,606 offences in 2020 and 1,602 in 2019. Transphobic attacks also soared during that same period, from an average of 208 a month from January to April to 324 for May to August. England’s third national lockdown began on 6 January, with the “stay at home” order being lifted on 29 March. Campaigners say the real hate crime figures are likely to be higher due to under-reporting and that they were a “stark reminder” that LGBTQ+ people are “still at risk of attack because of who we are”. The data, released under freedom of information legislation, was obtained by the PA Media news agency from 37 of the UK’s 46 forces. They show hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community were at their highest volume in June, the same month that saw the lifting of most legal restrictions on coronavirus rules. Police forces recorded 2,389 homophobic and 371 transphobic offences, the highest number of any calendar month in the past three years. This equates to about 80 homophobic and 12 transphobic offences a day, roughly double the 38 and six per day in January. Hate crime is defined by the Home Office as “any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic”. LGBTQ+ organisations suggested there could be many reasons for the rise, including an increased number of people being out and about, and the reopening of the night-time economy. Same-sex couples were also more visible when out in public during periods of restrictions, according to Leni Morris, the chief executive of the LGBT anti-violence charity Galop. “What we saw in the pandemic was LGBT+ people experiencing forms of abuse and violence that were either exacerbated by the pandemic itself or caused by it,” she said. “We have some people who were victims of abuse and attacks because of being blamed for the pandemic itself, either because perpetrators thought the pandemic was an act of God – because of the existence of LGBT+ people – or because of the community’s association with the last major pandemic in people’s minds, and that’s the HIV Aids pandemic.” Increases in hate crime offences may reflect improvements in how they are recorded and greater public awareness of how to report offences, some forces suggested. The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), which represents the leadership of local forces, said officers will “always pursue action against perpetrators of hate crime where there is the evidence to do so”. But Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, the NPCC lead for hate crime, admitted that with more people moving their abuse online in recent years, it may not be possible to bring a charge if a suspect cannot be identified. Eloise Stonborough, an associate director of policy and research at Stonewall, described the rise as worrying. She said: “LGBTQ+ people have struggled throughout the pandemic, with many not having access to vital support networks and spaces during lockdowns. “It’s always worrying to see an increase in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime, particularly at a time when our communities were more isolated than ever.”