July 25, 2016    By: Gonzalo Viña

Amber Rudd, home secretary, will launch an awareness campaign against hate crime and scrutinise how police deals with such incidents following a surge in complaints after the Brexit referendum.

The weekend following the referendum saw a 57 per cent increase in reported hate crimes, the most notable an attack on a Polish cultural centre in west London. They came after Brexit campaigners promised to “take back control” of immigration if voters chose to leave the EU.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council last week said that 6,293 hate crimes had been reported to the police between mid-June and mid-July.

Ms Rudd will meet anti-hate crime campaigners on Tuesday, when she will pledge government support for young people and teachers to tackle hatred and prejudice. She will urge victims of hate crime to come forward in order to understand the scale of the problem.

The government is setting aside £2.4m to improve security at places of worship after religious leaders raised concerns about graffiti and arson attacks.

“We are the sum of all our parts — a proud, diverse society,” Ms Rudd is due to say. “Hatred does not get a seat at the table, and we will do everything we can to stamp it out.”

Ms Rudd will promise to focus on anti-Muslim, anti-semitic, homophobic and racist bullying in schools after NPCC figures showed that young people were the victims of 10 per cent of faith hate crime and 8 per cent of recent race hate crimes.

 

 

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