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Monday 20 August 2018

Brexit: and the continued rise in racist attacks in the South West

Immediately following the referendum there was a sharp rise in racist attacks in the South West:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and xenophobia in Devon

The context at the time was migrants staffing the local economy:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and migrant workers in care homes and hotels >>> Who will take care of us "when the immigrants leave?"

The context is the same today:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and Sidmouth hotels struggling to find staff

And unfortunately the incidence of racist attacks continues to rise: 

Racist hate crimes soar in Cornwall and Devon


by Emma Carton 
26th July 2018 

Devon and Cornwall Police are having to deal with more racist hate crimes, after a spike in offences around Brexit.

The latest Home Office data shows the number reported to police where race is the motivating factor, rose 32% during the year of the referendum. In 2016/2017, 740 incidents were where someone was abused or attacked due to their race were recorded by officers in the Duchy and Devon, up from 561 cases the year before.

A Home Office report states that, while the police have improved their recording methods, "part of the increase is due to a genuine increase in hate crime, particularly around the time of the EU Referendum".

Rose Simkins, chief executive of Stop Hate UK, said it was "now an indisputable fact" that racist incidents have risen since the Brexit vote.

"Our own figures, from the period 2016-17, also support this trend where, after several years of disability being the biggest motivating factor, there was a clear shift towards race being the biggest factor.

"Also, after the referendum, many more people reported suffering hate for the first time, as deep-rooted prejudices surfaced and manifested themselves as abuse and threats to innocent members of the public".

The figures also show a rise in Islamophobic and anti-Semitic hate crime, where religion was a motivating factor.

Devon and Cornwall Police recorded 70 cases in 2016-17; that is 40 more than the previous year.

Rose Simkins said that while reporting and recording of hate crime has improved, she believes there is a large disparity between the actual number of incidents and the number reported to the police.

"It is vital that the police and authorities make use of the advice, support and training available from specialist third party organisations, such as Stop Hate UK and that, collectively, we adopt a collaborative approach to tackling hate crime.

"We still need many more resources to help close the disparity between the number of incidents happening to those reported, and to increase public confidence that an incident, or perceived incident, is worth reporting in the first place".

The total number of hate crime cases in Devon and Cornwall increased by 223 in 2016-17, with racist offences making up the majority of those. 


Incidents where disability is the motivating factor have also risen, from 79 in 2015-16 to 105 in the latest figures. Phil Talbot, disability charity Scope: "It's alarming that thousands of disabled people are being targeted in this way because of their impairment or condition. We encourage everyone to report these despicable crimes to the authorities, so those responsible can be caught and prosecuted".

On its website, Devon and Cornwall Police urges victims of hate crimes to report them.


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