Muslims and Jewish people were the most targeted religious groups
The Met Police logged almost 20,000 religious and race hate crime offences last year, new figures show. It comes as police-recorded hate crime rose for the first time in three years in England and Wales, with increases in both racially and religiously motivated offences.
The charity Victim Support said the figures “reveal a deeply worrying picture” and called for more investment in support services. New figures from the Home Office show the Met Police recorded 21,560 hate crimes in the year to March. Of those, 16,397 were racially motivated and 2,901 were religious hate crime offences.
Due to a change in the force’s crime recording system, data from previous years is not comparable with these recent figures. Last year police-recorded hate crime rose for the first time in three years across England and Wales. Some 137,550 hate crime offences were logged by forces including the Met in the year to March, but the Home Office said the change in recording means this is not comparable year-on-year.
Excluding the Met, there were 115,990 hate crime offences recorded across the two nations in the 12 months to March – up 2 per cent from the previous year, marking the first increase in three years.
Racially motivated hate crime rose by 6 per cent to 82,490 last year, and religious hate crime offences were up 3 per cent to 7,164 – the highest annual total on record. Hate crimes targeted at Muslims were up by almost a fifth, with the Home Office noting a spike in these offences after the Southport murders last summer and the riots which followed.
While there was an 18 per cent drop in religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people, the Home Office cautioned the overall figures exclude those recorded by the Met Police. The Home Office said the Met recorded 40 per cent of all religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people last year.
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan secured £875,000 this summer for more than 20 community-driven projects to fight hate crime, intolerance and extremism in the capital. The mayor’s office said the funding was allocated to address far-right and Islamic extremism, and educate young people on how to safely intervene in hate crime and identify harmful misinformation online.
Katie Kempen, Victim Support chief executive, said the figures “reveal a deeply worrying picture” and are “stark reminders of the growing hostility many communities face”. She added: “While these figures may also reflect that more victims are coming forward, they show that too many people are still being targeted simply because of who they are. These aren’t just numbers, they represent real lives shattered by abuse, fear and exclusion. This must never be normalised.”
She said the charity continues to witness “the devastating impact hate crime has on individuals and communities” and called for investment in victims’ services.
Ms Kempen added: “We urgently need long-term investment in victims’ services, stronger reporting pathways and a justice system that treats victims with dignity and respect. Everyone deserves to live free from hate and anyone who has experienced hate crime can contact our free 24/7 Supportline or speak to us via live chat on our website.”
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “Today’s hate crime statistics show that too many people are living in fear because of who they are, what they believe, or where they come from. Jewish and Muslim communities continue to experience unacceptable levels of often violent hate crime, and I will not tolerate British people being targeted simply because of their religion, race, or identity.”
She added more police patrols are currently deployed at synagogues and mosques following last week’s attack in Manchester, and £50 million is being provided “to keep places of worship safe and make sure they remain sanctuaries, not targets of hatred”. She said: “We stand with every community facing these attacks and will ensure those who commit hate crimes face the full force of the law.”
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