ONE HATE CRIME EVERY HOUR
SHOCKING FIGURES REVEAL ATTACKS UP BY 14 PER CENT
A HATE crime is recorded every hour in Greater Manchester.
The Home Office figures, for 2018/19, represent an increase of 14 per cent - up from 7,861 to 8,984 compared to the year before.
The EU referendum and terrorist attacks, including the Manchester Arena bombing, are thought to have caused spikes in hate crime, a Home Office report said.
Improvements in how crimes are recorded by police also play a part.
“While increases in hate crime over the last five years have been mainly driven by improvements in crime recording by the police, there have been spikes in hate crime following certain events such as the EU Referendum and the terrorist attacks in 2017,” the Home Office report read.
In Greater Manchester, race remained the most common motivating factor, with 6,855 racially-motivated crimes in 2018/19, up 7pc from 6,435 the year before.
It is a factor in three out of four hate crimes.
The M.E.N. has reported some sickening hate crimes in recent months.
Just this week, a mum told of the horrific moment racist yobs threw bleach at her after chanting monkey noises.
Reem Fahad, 24, was walking down a main road in Horwich, Bolton, at 1.30pm on Tuesday when the corrosive substance was thrown at her from a moving vehicle.
Manchester-born Reem, a care support worker who was on her way to help a patient with dementia, says she believes the thugs were inspired by the racist chanting that marred England’s football match in Bulgaria the previous night.
She says she had her headphones on and was looking at her phone for Christmas presents for son King, three, when the small black car sped up beside her and she felt a wet substance on her clothing.
In February, a man daubed ‘no blacks’ on a Salford dad’s front door.
Vaughan Dowd said he had no idea why he did it.
“Sheer and simple racism might be one reason,” a judge said following the vicious crime against Jackson Yamba and his 10-year-old son David. Last month, a man was left with a broken nose and fractured jaw after he tried to stop a racially-motivated hate crime on a Manchester street. Clive Pyott told the M.E.N. how he saw two men attacking someone on Stretford Road, Hulme.
He said the attackers screamed ‘speak f***ing English’ at the victim as they punched and stamped on him. Crimes against transgender people saw the sharpest rise, up 64pc from 88 cases in 2017/18 to 144 in 2018/19. Hate crimes based on a person’s sexual orientation also soared, up 26pc from 922 to 1,161.
Some 1,357 hate crimes based on a victim’s religion were recorded - up 10pc from 1,236.
And 464 hate crimes committed against disabled people were recorded - up 7pc from 434. Nationally, there has been a 10pc increase in all hate crime, with 103,379 recorded cases in 2018/19. Superintendent Rick Jackson, Greater Manchester Police’s tactical lead on hate crime, said: “Greater Manchester has a diverse population, with people from different faiths and backgrounds and this is something that we are proud of.
“It’s what makes us the city we are. “We will not tolerate hatred or discrimination of any kind.
“People should be able to go about their daily lives free from hate and abuse.
“We remain absolutely committed to tackling this abhorrent crime in conjunction with local authorities, community groups and other partners, which includes supporting those who suffer from it.
“We have also been working with communities to ensure people have the confidence to report incidents and will work quickly where we can to deal with offenders.
“I would continue to encourage anyone who has been a victim of hate crime to report it at the earliest opportunity so that we can maximise the opportunity to secure evidence and provide appropriate support.
“To report a hate crime call GMP on 101 or 999 in emergencies.
“You can report a hate crime or a hate incident online by visiting reportit.org.uk.
“Local agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau and Community Voluntary Services can also report the incident on your behalf and provide you with advice and support.”
Deputy mayor for policing and crime Bev Hughes said: “Greater Manchester is a place where everyone should feel safe to be themselves.
“No one should face violence, abuse or hatred just because of who they are, who they love, where they’re from, what they look like or what they believe.
“Hate incidents and hate crime will not be tolerated in Greater Manchester.
“We are proud to be supporting the national Hate Crime Awareness Week again this year and we want to remind those who witness hate crime incidents of the importance of reporting it to help make Greater Manchester a better place to live, work and visit.
“She added: “Coinciding with the national Hate Crime Awareness Week we are launching a consultation on Greater Manchester’s Hate Crime Plan - seeking people’s views in a bid to improve how we tackle hate crime incidents across our city-region.”