Hate Crime Figures On The Increase

SOME of the largest police forces in the UK have seen spikes in types of religious hate crime in the past 18 months, with numbers jumping after the start of the Hamas- Israel conflict in the autumn of 2023 - and again following the Southport attacks this summer, new figures reveal.

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Antisemitic offences recorded by forces including Greater Manchester, West Midlands and the Metropolitan Police rose sharply in the weeks following the outbreak of hostilities in the Middle East in October last year. The same forces then logged an increase in Islamophobic offences in the wake of the stabbings in Southport in July this year and the subsequent violent disorder in UK towns and cities.

The figures have been obtained using Freedom of Information requests.