Hate crime in London fuelled by Syria conflict

A new report shows overall the number of hate crimes in the capital rose by more than 20% in the last 12 months to October

London Evening Standard

London

 Hate crime in London has surged in the last year, driven in part by international events such as Syria and the conflict between Israel and Gaza.

A new report shows overall the number of hate crimes in the capital rose by more than 20% in the last 12 months to October.

There were significant increases in attacks motivated by racism, religion and homophobia, according to the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime.

Police believe the rise is mainly due to more people being willing to come forward to report incidents rather than a genuine increase in crime.

However, a surge in faith related offences — up by 23% to a total of 1,048 offences — was driven in part by the impact of national and international events, the study says.

A record number of faith hate offences was recorded in July this year, 95% of which were anti-Semitic following Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

The report also highlights the spike in anti-Muslim incidents following the murder of soldier Lee Rigby last year.

The figures show an increase in violent hate crime offences, up 21% to 11,400 crimes in the last 12 months.

Homophobic crime is also rising, with a monthly increase of 21.5% since March 2014 to an average of 100 cases a month.

In June there was a record 175 cases of homophobic crime reported, though community groups believe this is due to more people coming forward.

Transgender hate crime has grown by 86.2% from 58 to 108 cases. Disability hate crime was up 12.5%, and racist and religious crime also up by nearly 20%. The figures were  revealed in a report yesterday on the mayor’s new strategy to reduce hate crime in London.

It underlines how hate crime is hugely under-reported, either because people did not believe it will be investigated by police or a fear of reprisals.

Only around 43% of offences are thought to be reported, while the problem is even greater in new migrant communities such as Roma gypsies.

The study also underlined the growing problem of online hate crime.

Tell MAMA, the national Muslim hate crime support service, said that 80% of the reports it now receives are about online offences.

The mayor’s plan includes a new smartphone app to allow minority communities to report hate crimes more easily, with a pilot scheme in 2015.

Police will also develop a hate crime “hotspot” map to identify the top ten areas in London which record the most hate crime offences.

The report says the map will allow police to focus resources better on problem areas.

It also calls for better training for CPS, police and court staff after many victims told of being failed by the justice process.

Deputy Mayor for Policing Stephen Greenhalgh said: “Far too often people become targets of hate simply because of who they are or what they look like. The mayor and I are committed to tackling hate crime in all its forms.

“This strategy, supported by the Met, the criminal justice system and partners across the board sets out how we plan to do that and ensure everyone in London is free to live without fear.”

The report says the percentage of hate crimes solved by police is high compared to other offences, but the figures show the rate is falling.