Hate Crimes Against Muslims Top Hate Offences in UK: Data
The latest data from the Home Office shows that hate crimes motivated by religion have increased in England and Wales, while the overall number of hate crimes has decreased for the first time in 10 years.
Police recorded 145,214 hate crimes in the year ending March 2023, a 5% drop from 153,536 in the previous year. This is the first annual decline since comparable data began in 2012/13.
However, religious hate crimes rose by 9% to 9,387 offences.
Muslims were the most targeted group for religious hate crime, accounting for 39% of the offences. Jewish people were the second most targeted group, with 17% of the offences. Christians (7%), Hindus and Sikhs (both 3%) were also targeted. In 22% of the offences, the religion of the victim was not known.
Race hate crimes remained the largest category of hate crime, with 101,906 offences, but this was a 6% decrease from the previous year (108,476).
The Home Office said that the overall decrease in hate crime was likely due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on people's lifestyles and behaviours, such as reduced social interactions and public gatherings.
Source: Agencies
