Hate crimes against Muslims will be recorded under a new category by police in England and wales for the first time, David Cameron has announced.
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The most recent CSEW said there were 6.8 million offences in the year to the end of March, based on an estimate from interviewing tens of thousands of people about their experiences of crime.
“This app will greatly assist in reaching out to those at risk and allowing victims to report hate crime 24/7 and wherever they are”.
It comes after a Birmingham study revealed details of sickening hate crimes, including an incident when passengers on a train watched on as a Muslim woman was showered in alcohol in a violent assault.
A spokesperson for the gay rights group Stonewall said that it was a sign of progress that victims were more willing to go the police. “And I want police to take more action against those who persecute others simply due to their religion”, Cameron said.
Rose Simkins, chief executive of Stop Hate United Kingdom, said: “It is wonderful to see so many organisations working together to raise awareness about hate crime. hate crime across all monitored strands – disability, faith, gender identity, race and sexual orientation is a much under-reported crime”.
Officials have calculated that an estimated 220,000 hate crimes happen every year – using combined data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales between 2012-13 and 2014-15.
British hate crime is measured, with a consistent methodology, year on year.
“Participants argued that anti-Muslim hate must be challenged from within Muslim communities too often reluctant to report abuse or attacks? and that the public should intervene and assist victims of anti-Muslim hate where possible”, he said.
She added: “The increase in recorded hate crime shows that more victims have the confidence to come forward and that the police are improving the way they identify and record hate crimes”.
The council says hate crime affects all communities and, if not tackled, can lead to the isolation and victimisation of individuals and vulnerable groups and the polarisation of communities.
The Commons’ cross-party home affairs select committee also looked at the issue in 2013 and concluded in a report: “Current recording practises are inadequate to give an accurate picture of the extent to which reported crime is committed over the internet”.
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“Hate crime remains under reported, and the only way we can change this is by informing people what hate crime is, reassuring victims that this form of offending will not be tolerated and that help is available”.
