KILLER FACTS: Islamophobia and Brexit

The startling rise in Muslim-targeted hate crimes since the EU Referendum has been carefully documented by MEND.

To accompany Faisal Khan’s exploration of the reasons behind the spike in Islamophobic hate crimes after the Brexit referendum, here are some key statistics compiled from official sources:

In 2017/18, the number of religious hate crimes in England and Wales rose by 40% compared to the previous year ( 949 to 8336).

Muslims made up 52% of the victims of these crimes. The next biggest category was Jewish at 12%.

(source- Hate crime, England and Wales, 2017/18. Statistical Bulletin 2018, Home Office, October 16 2018)

The number of Islamophobic hate crimes in London increased by 32% between 2016/17 and 2017/18, with the Met Police recording 1665 Islamophobic crimes between April 2017 and March 2018.

(source -Year end statistics 2017/18 Metropolitan Police)

The Crime Survey of England estimated that there were 204,000 hate crime incidents between April 2013 and March 2016. This shows that most hate crimes are not reported to the police.

(User requested data: number of incidents of hate crime by Strand of Hate Crime and Percentage of those incidents reported to the police,crime survey for England and Sales, Years ending March 2014 to March 2016, Combined (12 month averages) Office for National Statistics, September 28, 2017)

Statistics from 30 police forces across England showed an 89% increase in hate crimes and hate incidents in schools in the month before the EU Referendum in June 2016.

(source -May Bulman, “Hate crimes almost doubled during the campaign period, figures reveal”The Independent May 05, 2017)