Hate crime is getting worse, says charity

SPIRALLING LEVELS of hate crime across West Yorkshire indicate an unpleasant climate which is getting worse, a leading charity has warned.

A West Yorkshire Police report says that recorded hate crimes across the region more than doubled between 2014/15 and 2016/17.

Figures show that 5,422 incidents were recorded in the nine months between April 2017 and January 2018 with offences related to race, faith, disability, gender and sexual orientation all on the up.

Nearly 300 were violent offences which resulted in physical injury to the victim.

But the report suggests “relatively few” offenders are being caught. Of the 329 faith hate crimes recorded in the past 12 months, only 28 resulted in charges being brought.

At the same time, victim satisfaction with the police process is falling, with many disillusioned by a lack of information about their case.

Rose Simkins, chief executive of the Leeds-based charity Stop Hate UK, said: “We think people are becoming more aware that what is happening to them may be against the law and of the work the police and charities like ourselves have been doing for a number of years now.

“But we’re also conscious that everything seems very unsettled out there. We do believe there is a very unpleasant climate at the moment, and it’s getting worse.

“What victims are telling us is that it’s becoming more frequent and it’s getting nastier.

“Sadly there is no magic wand to fix it. It’s about continued hard work, building up trust with people and breaking down the barriers of people who say they don’t want to mix with anyone else.”

About two thirds of faith-related hate crimes are against Muslims.

Usman Ali, 23, a community worker in Wakefield, says he was subjected to racial slurs from a passing group of men in the city last year.

West Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said that the rise reflected greater levels of awareness.