In
2014, antisemitic crime broke all previous records. Many linked the surge in
Jew-hatred across Britain to fighting between Israel and Hamas, and expected
antisemitic crime levels to fall to a background level. That is not what
happened.
Our
team has analysed data provided from all of the police forces in the United
Kingdom.
We now know that in 2015:
– Police forces recorded a 25.7%
increase in hate crime against Jews, making it the worst year on record for antisemitic crime. The level of
antisemitic crime was consistently high throughout the year.
– Violent antisemitic crime jumped by 50.8%.
In 2014 violent acts accounted for 16.9% of all antisemitic crime, but by 2015
violent acts accounted for 20.3% of antisemitic crime.
– Despite the growth in antisemitic crime, police forces charged 7.2% fewer cases in 2015 than in 2014, meaning that only 13.6%
of cases resulted in charges being brought.
– There was no change in the non-criminal antisemitic acts
reported to the police, meaning that in 2015 a higher proportion of the
antisemitic acts reported to the police were criminal.
When
the current wave of antisemitism began in 2014, politicians and police chiefs
were quick to promise tough action. The day after Campaign Against
Antisemitism
rallied outside the Royal Courts of Justice, the Prime Minister echoed our call
for zero tolerance law enforcement against antisemites.
The promised crackdown has not materialised. In far too many cases, rank and file police
officers and prosecutors often do not recognise some of the forms of
antisemitism, or fail to take it seriously. Officers and prosecutors are not
being given sufficient training or oversight.
The results speak for themselves. Antisemitic crime is climbing
fast, violence against Jews is soaring, and the police response is gradually
getting worse. If
Britain is to escape the fate of other European countries, where antisemitism
and extremism are rife and Jews are leaving in their thousands, we must train
our frontline police officers and prosecutors, and properly oversee them.
We recommend:
– Specific training and guidance on antisemitic hate crime for officers and
prosecutors, produced in close consultation with us, in addition to the
generic hate crime training that leaves officers and prosecutors ill-equipped
to deal with the intricacies of antisemitism.
– A review of all forces by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of
Constabulary and the appointment of a senior officer in each force with responsibility for overseeing the response
to antisemitic hate crime.
– Recording and regular publication
by the Crown Prosecution Service of cases involving antisemitism and their
outcomes.
This
data should alarm those responsible for enforcing the law: they are failing
British Jews badly. Britain has the political will to fight antisemitism and
strong laws with which to do it, but in too many cases, those responsible for
tackling the rapidly growing racist targeting of British Jews are failing to
enforce the law.
If
the situation continues to deteriorate, the Jewish community will be faced with
the kind of rampant antisemitism seen in other European countries, which has
left Jews feeling fearful and abandoned, many of them convinced that they have
no choice but to emigrate.
The
time to act was 2014. The authorities can still make up for lost time, but the
window is closing. Britain’s fight against antisemitism and extremism cannot be
allowed to fail.
