HateTerror attacks in U.K. fueling surge in hate crimes
Terror attacks have helped drive up the number of hate crimes in England and Wales with spikes in the aftermath of incidents, Home Office official figures published today show. The number of offenses recorded by police jumped following the terror attack by Khalid Masood at Westminster last year. Hate crime incidents continued to rise in May and June after terrorists attacked the Manchester Arena and London Bridge. The increases reflect a trend which has been evident for some years.
Terror attacks have helped drive up the number of hate crimes in England and Wales with spikes in the aftermath of incidents, Home Office official figures published today show.
The Times reports that the number of offenses recorded by police jumped following the terror attack by Khalid Masood at Westminster last year. Hate crime incidents continued to rise in May and June after terrorists attacked the Manchester Arena and London Bridge.
The Times notes that the increases reflect a trend which has been evident for some years. Racially or religiously aggravated offenses peaked after the murder of Lee Rigby outside his barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, in July 2013. There was a similar increase in the number of offenses during the EU referendum campaign with a peak in offenses, many of them said to be against east Europeans, after the Brexit result was declared in July 2016.
The U.K. police authorities define hate crime as any criminal offense which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice toward someone based on a personal characteristic.
The Home Office figures published Tuesday show a similar trend last year.
The number of hate crimes recorded by police rose 17 percent in the year that ends in March to reach 94,098, more than double the figure five years ago.
A Home Office bulletin said some of the increase is likely to be a result of better recording practices — which has also been given as a reason why overall crime has risen.
The bulletin notes, however, that another reason is due to “an apparent increase in racially or religiously aggravated offences in March 2017 following the Westminster Bridge attack.”0
Police currently include xenophobic attacks and those against refugees and travelers in the hate crime category.
The overall conviction rate for hate crimes has increased to 84.7 percent, but only a small proportion of reported incidents – 12 percent – end with someone being charged or summonsed to court.
A survey conducted by the police shows that around two-thirds of victims felt police had treated them fairly, lower than average, and they were more likely to say they had been emotionally affected or been left feeling vulnerable.
