Steep rise in religious hate crimes recorded by Met since Hamas-Israel conflict
The Metropolitan Police say ‘hundreds of investigations’ are still ongoing into offences recorded since October 7 2023.
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Your support makes all the difference.Antisemitic hate crimes recorded by the Metropolitan Police in the wake of Hamas’s October attack on Israel were more than 13 times the number for the same period in 2022, new figures reveal.
The data, obtained by the PA news agency using a Freedom of Information (FoI) request, comes as the nation prepares to mark Holocaust Memorial Day this weekend.
A total of 679 antisemitic offences were recorded by the Met Police from October 7 to November 7 2023 inclusive, compared with 50 in the equivalent period the previous year and 81 in 2021.
There was also a sharp jump in Islamophobic offences, with 258 recorded in the month following October 7, compared with 73 in 2022 and 72 in 2021.
The data shows a similar picture to that recorded by many of the UK’s other large police forces, as first reported by PA in December 2023 following other FoI requests.
The response from the Metropolitan Police has only now been made available, due to a delay in compiling the statistics.
The figures come as the nation prepares to mark Holocaust Memorial Day on Saturday.
The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust is inviting people to join commemorations by lighting a candle in their windows that evening, as part of its “Light the Darkness” campaign, which will also see landmarks across the UK illuminated in purple.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “We recognise the impact that the October 7 terrorist attacks and the subsequent conflict have had here in London, in particular in Jewish and Muslim communities.
“The Met has had a dedicated operation focused on responding to the increase in hate crime, fear and uncertainty in communities and protests throughout.
“While the majority of the coverage has focused on protests – where more than 300 arrests have been made – a significant amount of work has also taken place in communities.
“These investigations, led by local officers, have led to more than 100 additional arrests, the majority of which were for antisemitic offences. Hundreds of investigations are still ongoing.
“We have made it a priority to maintain constant communication with community representatives and partner organisations to understand different perspectives and to inform our response.”
Figures previously reported by the PA news agency showed Greater Manchester Police recorded 74 antisemitic offences in the month following the Hamas attacks on October 7 2023, compared with 15 for the same period in 2022 and 14 in 2021, while West Yorkshire Police recorded 53, compared with 10 (2022) and 14 (2021).
West Midlands Police recorded 22 antisemitic offences from October 7 to November 7, compared with one (2022) and eight (2021), while Merseyside Police recorded 20 compared with four (both 2022 and 2021).
The British Transport Police had one of the largest increases, recording 87 antisemitic offences in the month after October 7, up from eight in the same period in 2022 and 11 in 2021, as well as a jump in Islamophobic offences with 22 (2023), up from two (2022) and eight (2021).
West Yorkshire recorded 49 Islamophobic offences in this period in 2023, up from 29 (2022) and 38 (2021), but the pattern was not so clear for Greater Manchester (34 in 2023, 43 in 2022 and 42 in 2021) or West Midlands (25 in 2023, 33 in 2022 and 23 in 2021).
Data obtained from smaller forces, or those covering areas with few towns or cities, typically showed low numbers of offences, often in single figures, meaning a clear trend was hard to determine.
Holocaust Memorial Day Trust chairwoman Laura Marks said: “The theme for this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day, the Fragility of Freedom, presents us all with an opportunity to reflect on the delicate nature of freedom.
“It also challenges us to defend our freedoms at every opportunity.
“As communities gather across the UK to light candles, let us commit to not taking our freedoms for granted and do more to create a safer, better world free of identity-based persecution.”