Hate crime in England and Wales rises for first time in three years

The total number of hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales has risen for the first time in three years, including increases in race and religiously motivated offences, government figures suggest.

Religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims rose by 19%, with a spike following the Southport murders and riots that followed last summer, the Home Office said.

The number of hate crimes directed at Jewish people fell by 18% in the year to March, but these figures exclude those recorded by the Met Police.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Jewish and Muslim communities "continue to experience unacceptable levels of often violent hate crime".

"Today's hate crime statistics show that too many people are living in fear because of who they are, what they believe, or where they come from," she said.

"I will not tolerate British people being targeted simply because of their religion, race, or identity."

Mahmood said the government had increased police patrols at synagogues and mosques following an attack on a synagogue in Manchester last week.

"We stand with every community facing these attacks and will ensure those who commit hate crimes face the full force of the law," she said.

The Met separately showed 40% of all religious hate crimes were targeted at Jewish people in the past year.

The total number of race hate crimes increased by 6% in the year to March.

In total, excluding the Met, there were 115,990 hate crime offences recorded by police in the year ending March 2025, up 2% from 113,166 for the previous 12 months.

A hate crime is an offence targeting someone's race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.

The hate crimes figures, supplied by the 43 territorial police forces across England and Wales and British Transport Police, recorded falls in hate crime in three other groups including sexual orientation (down 2%), disability (down 8%) and transgender (down 11%.)

There were 137,550 hate crimes recorded by the police in England and Wales including the Met, but the department said the change in recording meant the figures were not directly comparable year-on-year.

The latest figures do not yet include recent events such as unrest following protests outside of asylum hotels and reports of hate crimes at anti-immigration rallies.

Suresh Grover, founder of the anti-racist charity The Monitoring Group, said the figures do not give the full picture of hate crime experienced by some communities.

"Your colour has become your passport or your nationality".

He added that the victim's "first contact" with the police is absolutely critical and if they do not "respond in a speedy way, in a sensitive way and in a way that considers their safety as paramount, everything falls backwards and you lose those people in the statistical data that exists".

"Worse still, you lose people who continue to suffer in silence."

Imam Qari Asim, co-chairman of the British Muslim Network, said: "Whether it is Islamophobia, antisemitism or any form of bigotry, we must confront it together - with unity and courage, not silence."