Antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes in London have soared over the
last year, official figures released on Monday showed, with global events
apparently contributing to the rise.
Police recorded 499 antisemitic incidents in the 12 months leading to
July, up more than 93 percent from 258 the previous year. At the same time, 816
Islamophobic offenses were recorded, marking a 70% surge.
London’s Metropolitan Police said “world events” may have contributed to
the increase, while there was also a rise in incidents on holy days when Muslim
and Jewish communities were more “visible.”
A willingness by victims to report such crimes and improved ability of
police to identify them were also factors, Scotland Yard said.
“In light of recent world
events, we know communities in London are feeling anxious,” a spokesman for the
force said.
“Local Neighbourhood Policing
Teams are providing a more targeted presence in key areas at key times, such as
school routes, holy days and prayer times to give extra reassurance.”
Fiyaz Mughal, from Tell Mama, an organization which monitors
Islamophobic incidents, said around 60 percent of victims of such offences are
women wearing a hijab or headscarf.
“We also realised quite early
on that women who wear niqab, the face veil, suffered more aggressive incidents
— there was something about the face veil that in a way brought out the worst
in the perpetrator,” he told the BBC.
Metropolitan Police Commander Mak Chishty moved to reassure Londoners
that any reports of hate crime would be taken seriously.
“We have more than 900
specialist officers across London working in our community safety units who are
dedicated to investigating hate crime,” he said.
The figures come after the Community Service Trust, a Jewish security
charity, reported a 53 percent increase in antisemitic incidents across Britain
between January and June, compared with the same period last year.
Some 473 antisemitic incidents were recorded during the first six months
of 2015 compared to 309 in the first half of 2014, according to the charity
which last year recorded a record high number of such incidents.
