Religious hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales have risen by 25% in the past year, driven by a rise in the number of crimes against Jews and Muslims since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Ministry of Justice figures show. Home Affairs.
The data shows that the vast majority of the 140,561 recorded hate crimes – around seven in 10 – are motivated by race.
But the increase in religious hate crimes is mainly driven by an increase in anti-Semitic crimes, the department said.
Hate crimes targeting Jewish people have more than doubled, according to data, while incidents against Muslims have increased by 13% compared to the previous 12 months.
The Home Office said this is the highest annual number of religious hate crimes since the ministry started collecting data in March 2012.
More recent figures, collected by community organizations and not police, show record highs in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia up to the end of September.
Releasing the statistics on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said the 25% increase “was driven by an increase in hate crimes against Jewish people and to a lesser extent against Muslims and has occurred since the start of the Israeli-Hamas conflict ”.
The hate crime figures, provided to the Home Office by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales and the British Transport Police, showed a 5% drop in the overall number of hate crimes.
But in the year ending March 2024, there were 3,282 religious hate crimes against Jews, more than double the previous year (1,543).
The peak in such incidents coincided with the start of the conflict in the Middle East, and although the number declined, by the spring it had not returned to pre-conflict levels.
The data is consistent with what was reported by Jewish charities last year, with the highest number of offenses reported in Greater London.
Jewish charity Community Security Trust (CST) said the 5,583 incidents recorded in Britain between October 7, 2023 and September 30 are the highest total of any twelve-month period and are three times higher than the previous twelve-month period, when 1,830 incidents occurred. incidents registered.
The figures also show that there were 3,866 religious hate crimes against Muslims, a 13% increase on the 3,432 last year.
It means that 38% of recorded religious hate crimes were against Muslims, and the figures do not include the unrest following the events in Southport in the summer.
Tell Mama – which records anti-Muslim incidents – said it had recorded 4,971 incidents of hate and discrimination across Britain in the year since the October 7, 2023, attacks, the highest number in more than a decade.
“The appalling levels of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate crime outlined in today’s figures are a stain on our society, and this Government will work tirelessly to tackle this toxic hatred wherever it is found,” Home Secretary said Business Yvette Cooper.
“We cannot allow events unfolding in the Middle East to spiral into increasing hatred and tension here on our streets, and those who spread this poison – offline or online – must face the full force of the law.” , she said.
The police figures do show that there has been a decrease in the number of registered hate crimes in the field of disability (a decrease of 18%) and in the number of cases in which people focus on their sexual orientation (a decrease of 8%). %), and a 2% decrease in transgender hate crimes.
But they also show that although the number of racist hate crimes has fallen by 5%, there have still been 98,799 cases recorded in 12 months, and this is still by far the most common motivation for such crimes.
Hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation fell for the second year in a row to 22,839 reported incidents.
It means that these types of hate crimes have fallen by a total of 13% since March 2022 – the highest number ever recorded.
The Home Office says these declines have been driven by a decline in the number of malicious communications crimes, as well as reports of incidents causing fear, alarm or anxiety among the public.
Simon Blake, CEO of LGBT campaigning charity Stonewall, told BBC News that hate crimes reported to police “is only part of the picture”.
He said: “It is vital that all those affected have access to support. The fight against hate is shared, so we must work together to build a society where everyone is safe, respected and free from harm.”
Danielle St James, director of transgender charity Not A Phase, told the BBC that transgender people are often reluctant to report hate crimes.
She said: “After many years of soaring hate crimes against trans people, the news that they have fallen by 2% is certainly welcome.
“That said, we know all too well that the community is reluctant to report these crimes, so it’s always worth taking statistics like this with a pinch of salt.”
