Nottinghamshire saw UK’s second-biggest rise in post-Brexit hate crime

Nottinghamshire had the second-biggest rise in hate crimes in the UK following the June 2016 Brexit vote.

Incidents rose by 75 per cent between July and September 2016 – the only police force which reported a higher rise was Dorset, where the crime increased by 100 per cent.

The total rise across the country was 27 per cent.

In the weeks following the vote, some city residents told Notts TV they had experienced abuse, including members of Nottingham’s Polish community.

Piotr Domanski, the marketing co-ordinator for Signpost for Polish Success, said his 14-year-old daughter had been subject to abuse.

“She told me she has been verbally abused by four pupils and one of them threatened to slap her and provide her with a ‘ticket back to Poland’,” he said.

“She felt rejected, she felt like she lost her confidence.”

According to the figures, obtained by the Press Association, all police forces in England and Wales reported their highest number of incidents since recording of the crime began.

However, the hate crime statistics include variations in how forces record offences, meaning that Nottinghamshire Police’s decision to consider misogyny a hate crime may have had some affect on the figures.

Superintendent Ted Antill, of Notts Police, said: “The force has been working extremely hard to raise awareness of hate crime and to encourage members of our diverse communities to report incidents to us.

“We are continuously monitoring the reporting of hate crime and have a very robust method for recording and understanding the issue. We are reassured to see that more people are coming forward and want this to continue.”

The figures mean 189 hate crimes were recorded in Nottinghamshire in the three months following the Referendum.

Supt Antill added: “Nottinghamshire, like many other counties, saw an increase of reporting after the referendum and worked closely with partners in order to best support those coming forward and bring offenders to justice.

“During the same period, the force became the first in the country to introduce a new misogynistic category of hate behaviour and were actively promoting the on-going work its officers do in tackling this very impactful crime.

“We remain absolutely committed to reducing hate crime and take every report seriously. Nottinghamshire is an incredibly diverse county that we as an organisation are proud to be a part of.

“We do not tolerate hate and appeal to anyone who has been a victim to come and speak to us.”

 

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