Harrowing figures show nearly 150,000 hate crimes were reported to police in England and Wales in the year to March 2026 – a 7% rise in a year, with racism and religious-based hatred on the rise
Harrowing figures show racist and religious-based hate crimes have hit record levels as campaigners warn of a national emergency.
Stark data reveals overall hate crimes went up by 7% in England and Wales in the year to March, with four in 10 involving violence. This included a 9% rise in race hate crimes and a 13% increase in victims being targeted because of their religion.
There was a 15% rise in hate crimes directed at Muslims and 10% aimed at Jews. Sabby Dhalu, Stand up to Racism Co-Convenor, told The Mirror: “Sadly, it is no surprise that race and religious hate crimes increased in the year ending March 2026.
“This period coincided with a summer of hate targeting hotels housing asylum seekers, with politicians either openly supporting these demonstrations or conceding to the pressure they generated, culminating in the largest far-right demonstration in British history.
“These figures confirm two things. First, when politicians fan the flames of hatred, it has consequences on the ground. Secondly, racism directed at one community can create a climate in which other communities are targeted too.
“That is why we all have a responsibility to stand in solidarity with any community facing racism and hatred, and to unite against racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism. We cannot allow hatred directed at one community to become normalised, because ultimately it threatens us all.”
Ilyas Nagdee, racial justice lead at Amnesty International UK said: “The shocking rise in hate crimes show that racism, violence and fear are tragically becoming a day-to-day reality across the UK.
“Behind these statistics are stories of children who are afraid to go to school, families who are scared to leave home and communities divided. When there are over 10,000 racially or religiously aggravated offences record in a single month, and hate crimes are increasing in double digits year on year, we are in a genuine emergency.
“The UK government must act now and resource hate crime investigations to cut down the delays present between hate and non-hate offences, hold perpetrators to account, and send an unambiguous message that racism and all forms of hate will not be tolerated.”
The Home Office data showed there were 146,825 hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales, of which 107,926 were linked to race. A further 11,419 were motivated by religious – with 5,132 directed at Muslims and 3,162 at Jews.
In October last year two British Jews, Adrian Daulby and Melvin Cravitz, were killed in a terror attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester. In the 12 months to March there were 117 police-recorded religious hate crimes targeted at Jewish people per 10,000 population – the highest rate for any religious group. The next highest rate was for religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims, with 13 per 10,000 population.
Just 10% of hate crimes resulted in a charge or summons, the figures show. Outside of London, religious and racial hatred incidents are at their highest levels since records began in March 2014, the Home Office said.
Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “These numbers offer a stark warning that hatred continues to blight our communities, both online and on the streets.
“This government will not tolerate people being targeted by threats and violence simply for being who they are. We fully support a robust response from police to any reports of hate crime.”
The figures show there were 21,407 sexual orientation hate crimes recorded by police – down 1%. Disability hate crime cases fell by 5% and transgender hate dropped by 4%, but questions have been raised about the data.
Rose Simkins, chief executive of Stop Hate UK, said: “I think we are in bleak times. The positive we always take from it is that people are coming forward, which is good. But we believe there are many, many more incidents that are never reported and never recorded by the police.
“We’re not surprised that obviously race and faith have increased with the current climate. I’ve been in a meeting this morning where people are reporting, that the term ‘get out of my country’ is being used more and more to people.
“And going back more than 20 years, that was something that was often said to people. And I know of a 17-year-old who tried to die by suicide as a result of just hearing those words. So they really resonate with people and cause considerable harm.
“I’m not surprised that those figures have gone up. I think there is a bigger problem than the figures reflect.”
Ms Simkins continued: “The other aspect that really concerns us is the decrease in disability and transgender hate crime figures, because our interactions with trans people do not reflect a reduction in incidents. They’re basically living in fear and experiencing many, many incidents.”