Police introduced hate crime as a separate category following the 2019 Christchurch mosque attacks. Photo: NurPhoto
The police have recorded more than 20,000 instances of hate-motivated crime over the past four years.
Police developed the category of crime after the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks, and define it as an offence perceived to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's particular characteristic.
These are characteristics like race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or transgender identity, disability, or age.
In July, police alleged an attack on a 16-year-old boy was hate-motivated, after he was hit with a metal rod while riding the bus.
Police data revealed to RNZ through an OIA showed 20,194 occurrences where incidents had been flagged for hate from 2020 to June of this year.
Auckland City alone had just over 3412 hate-motivated incidents over the past four years, while Counties Manukau reported 2540.
Wellington reported 2445 such incidents, and Canterbury reported 2696 since 2020.
Northland had the lowest number of hate-motivated incidents reported, at 536 to June 2024.
The national total for reported instances had been increasing since 2020, from over 1300, to nearly 4000 in 2021, 5179 in 2022, and almost 6400 last year.
Police noted the initial increase since 2019 should not be interpreted as a rise in the overall level of hate-motivated crime, but as a result of greater awareness, improved reporting and recording of these crimes.
Director of prevention, innovation and change Mere Wilson Tuala-Fata said reporting and recording of hate-motivated crime was relatively new, and that police were committed to the continued development of reporting capabilities, and to providing more detailed data to communities.
"Police is on a journey, alongside partner agencies, to reduce the harm caused by hate in New Zealand," she said.
"If anyone feels unsafe, attacked, threatened, hurt, or targeted because of their race, religion, sexuality, gender, age, disability, or any other part of their identity, they can report this to the police."
Wilson Tuala-Fata said violence or threatening behaviour - including any involving hate, hostility or prejudice - was not acceptable.
"Police recognises the harm and distress hate-motivated crime and incidents have on individuals and wider communities. Police records all reports of violent extremism and hate-motivated crime and investigates as appropriate."
The police definition of hate-motivated crime captured groups and identities targeted as "perceived prejudices" which were specific sub-categories to its six "protected characteristics".
Perceived prejudice figures did not align directly with offence-level or occurrence-level data previously reported, as each hate-motivated crime could target more than one protected characteristic, as well as each perceived prejudice within it.