The number of homophobic hate crimes reported to police have more than doubled in the past five years – yet only 8% result in prosecutions, figures show. Reports of homophobic abuse recorded by UK police forces soared from 5,807 in 2014-15 to 13,530 in 2018-19, according to the data. But the number of prosecutions dropped from 1,157 to 1,058 over the same period – from 20% of all reports to 8%. The figures were obtained by BBC Radio 5 Live Investigations under freedom of information laws. Full responses to the request were received from 38 of the UK’s 46 forces, with partial data from Police Scotland not included in the analysis. Lee Broadstock, the secretary of the national LGBT police network, told BBC Breakfast on Wednesday: “We have seen an increase in confidence in victims to report it to us and I think that’s where that increase has come from.