Muslims most targeted group for hate crimes in England, Wales

LONDON (AA) - Nearly half of all hate crime victims in England and Wales in the year ending March 2021 were Muslims, according to new statistics released by the Home Office.

The overall hate crimes rose by 9% as police recorded 124,091 incidents between March 2020 and March 2021, the new data show.

The racially motivated hate crimes were the majority of the overall figures as they increased by 12% to 85,668 offenses.

The number of religious hate crimes was 6,377, with almost half of them targeting Muslims.

“In year ending March 2021, where the perceived religion of the victim was recorded, just under half (45%) of religious hate crime offences were targeted against Muslims (2,703 offences),” the Home Office release said.

The second most targeted group was Jewish people with 22%.

“In 16 per cent of offences, the targeted religion was not known.”

Muslims have been the target of increasing Islamophobic attacks since the 9/11 terror attacks in the US and 7/7 terror attacks in the UK.

According to the Home Office, hate crimes spiked “in July 2016, following the EU Referendum, July 2017, following the terrorist attacks seen in this year, and in Summer 2020, following the Black Lives Matter protests and far-right counter-protests following the death of George Floyd on 25th May in the United States of America.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council said it was “working with forces to help them understand and improve the service they provide to victims.”

London's Metropolitan Police recorded the highest number of racially aggravated hate offenses in 2020 with 15,101 incidents with a 7% rise from the previous year.