Race-linked hate crime increased during lockdown

RACIALLY aggravated hate crime grew significantly during the first coronavirus lockdown and has remained high since, according to new figures.

From March to May, the number of offences locally and nationally was lower than in the same period last year, according to the Office for National Statistics. This reflected the general reduction in all reported crime.

However, the number of racially aggravated offences reported in Leicestershire began to climb steadily and June’s total was a third higher than in the same month in 2019.

That trend has continued and Covid-19 has been a major factor, despite hopes that the country was finding unity in the midst of crisis, according to the force’s hate crime officer, Isla Dixon.

She said: “We’ve identified that people are not getting on with each other as we as a society would like to think.”

In Leicester alone between April and June, hate crime figures more than doubled and the level has remained stubbornly high since, Ms Dixon said.

Out of 288 reports of hate crime in Leicestershire in June, 227 were recorded racially aggravated. The number of race-based incidents remained above 200 in July, August and September. There was a reduction in cases of people being targeted because of their religion. However, Ms Dixon believes such crimes are often reported by the public as racially aggravated. Ms Dixon said: “Covid-19 was certainly a catalyst to change how people treat each other.” Reports increased across all ethnic communities in Leicester – and following the Black Lives Matter protests.

“One of the reasons for a crime increase is because people are more confident to come forward,” Ms Dixon said.

“It’s positive that communities are coming forward.”

However, under-reporting is believed to remain a problem. The police have run campaigns to encourage more people to come forward.

Ms Dixon urged members of the public to specify their ethnicity when reporting an incident.

She said: “People don’t always like to share that information, but without it we can’t break down the data, resulting in a bigger percentage of crimes falling into the unknown category.”

Suleman Nagdi, spokesman for the Federation of Muslim Organisations, said despite “heroic efforts” to care for each other during the lockdown, there had been an “unacceptable” increase in hate crime.

He said: “Fear and anxiety have been manipulated to stoke anger and division through lies and misinformation. It is unacceptable and it must stop.”

Ms Dixon said: “Raising awareness is essential if we are to encourage our communities and those targeted with hate or discrimination to come forward.”

We’ve identified that people are not getting on with each other as we as a society would like to think.

Hate crime officer Isla Dixon