Religious hate crime up in Brighton and Hove, says new report

Recorded cases rose to 99 in the nine months to December – up from 63 in the whole of 2022-23 – with just 43 cases in the comparable nine-month period a year earlier.

The report does not give any further specific breakdown but said: “International and national incidents have a local impact.

“A significant increase is reported in both anti-semitic and islamophobic incidents in the UK post Hamas attack and Israel / Palestine violence.

“This has also significantly impacted on the communities in the UK, with many protests and counter protests and some arrests on terrorism charges in the UK.

“Israel / Palestine violence has provided a flashpoint for anti-semitic and islamophobic incidents in the past.

“However, there is increased evidence of polarisation of views, strain on intercommunity relations, targeting of political leaders and on statutory organisations’ abilities to work in partnership with the communities.”

The details were included in an update and progress report on the Community Safety and Crime Reduction Strategy 2023-26 which the council approved last year – as required by law.

The report said: “The cumulative impact of the various international and national conflicts has given rise to a narrative where communities are worried about increased islamophobia, anti-semitism and anti-migrant views.

“This may contribute to grievances that could be exploited to radicalise, recruit, raise funds, etc, especially within the context of the pre-existing ‘victimisation narratives’.

“The covid-19 pandemic has also accelerated a momentum for narratives based on the idea of distrusting governments and political policies.

“People’s relationships with authority, trust and institutions are likely to remain salient in future.”

In addition to religiously motivated attacks, the report said that in 2022-23 there were 648 racist hate incidents and crimes in Brighton and Hove.

A further 331 hate incidents were related to “perceived sexuality”, 86 were motivated by disability and 83 were related to gender identity.

The report said: “Those harmed by incidents and crimes where people are targeted because of a disability, their ethnicity or race, religion or faith, sexual orientation or transgender identity tell us that it has a significant effect on their quality of life, wellbeing and feelings of safety.

“People harmed by hate crimes are often more emotionally impacted than persons harmed by other types of crime.

“It is acknowledged that many hate incidents and crimes go unreported. Reasons for not reporting include not knowing what a hate incident or crime is, not knowing where or how to report, a lack of trust in statutory authorities and a belief that nothing will be done.”

The report is due to be discussed next week by the council’s Equalities, Community Safety and Human Rights Committee.

The committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 4pm on Monday (25 March) and the meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.