Figures show the number of suspected race hate crimes on Britain’s railways risen sharply in the aftermath of the EU referendum. British Transport police (BTP) recorded 119 incidents which included allegations of racist abuse and attacks at stations equivalent to eight a day, in the fortnight after the vote.
The number of alleged race hate offences logged by the force between 24 June and 7 July accounted to a 57% increase on the previous two weeks, and an even sharper rise of 78% on the equivalent period in 2015. These figures reveal a worrying trend which coincides with figures from police forces across the country and reflect a wave of xenophobic abuse reported following the Brexit vote.
The Press Association obtained the BTP statistics for the two weeks following the referendum through a freedom of information (FoI) request. It shows that there were 11 alleged race hate offences a day after the outcome of the vote was announced. Public order crimes were the most commonly recorded incidents, with dozens of suspects said to have made racist comments towards passengers or staff. There were three alleged instances of racially or religiously aggravated actual bodily harm, including one in which the victim was “perceived to be attacked due to their nationality”. At the time the FoI response was issued earlier this month, 22 people had been arrested in relation to the cases.
Rose Simkins, the chief executive of charity Stop Hate UK, said: “We consistently hear from victims that one of the reasons they do not report incidents is a lack of confidence in authorities to deal with the issue. We would encourage BTP to look closely at the type of incidents being reported and take the opportunity to assess how effective their hate crime strategies are.”
Supt Chris Horton from the BTP said: “We are aware that hate crime is under-reported and so in order to tackle it effectively, we need the public to stand up to those committing these sickening acts and report it to us. We will take every report seriously. We will always work tirelessly to ensure those who threaten or intimidate passengers are brought to justice.”
Last month hate crime reports to police across Britain in the week before and the week after the 23 June vote increased by 42%, to more than 3,000. In the four weeks from the middle of June over 6,000 alleged hate crimes and incidents were reported to police across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. There was a slight fall, but the volume of reports was still about a third higher than the same time last year.
BTP polices Britain’s railways as well as a number of urban networks such as London Underground.
