Attendees sit next to a poster as speakers from different faiths speak at an interfaith rally titled "Love is Stronger than Hate" at the Islamic Community Center in Phoenix, Arizona, United States June 1, 2015. The rally was held in response to an earlier anti-Muslim rally at the same location. PHOTO: REUTERS
Over half of the religiously-motivated attacks targeted Muslims. Anti-Antisemitic offences followed, according to Home Office statistics. Police recorded 94,098 hate crime instances over the aforementioned time frame, more than double the total five years earlier.
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“This increase is thought to be largely driven by improvements in police recording, although there have been spikes in hate crime following certain events such as the EU referendum and the terrorist attacks in 2017,” a Home Office document read. “It is thought that the sharp increase in religious hate crimes is due to a rise in these offences following the terrorist attacks in 2017.”
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The numbers were released a day after the government announced it was to review current laws regarding such offences. This revision will include whether to add new characteristics to the definition such as age and gender.
Home Affairs Committee Chair Yvette Cooper said: “Hate crime can be devastating for victims, deeply divisive for communities, and dangerously linked to extremism … it is very damaging both for those who are targeted by appalling violence or abuse and for entire communities too."
This article originally appeared in The Independent.
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