Responding to the report released today by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary that revealed “significant problems” faced by police in England and Wales in responding to hate crime, Kerry Moscogiuri, Director of Campaigns and Communications at Amnesty International UK, said:

“The rise of hate crime in the UK has been of significant concern to Amnesty for some time.

“Last year, we called for police to receive increased training in how to respond to hate crime and support victims, and for more resources to assist investigation and prosecution to raise awareness into how victims can report hate crimes.

“Every year, hundreds of thousands of people in the United Kingdom are attacked and harassed – physically or verbally – simply because they are perceived as ‘different’.

“In this ongoing era of political upheaval, we would remind politicians, social commentators and sections of the media that the language they use can have serious consequences on the streets of Britain.”

In the ‘Against Hate: Tackling hate crime in the UK’ briefing published last year, Amnesty UK called for all police officers to receive adequate training to correctly identify hate crime, respond to victims and support them appropriately, and for increased resources for police forces and local governments to support frontline practitioners to establish and continue meaningful dialogue with different communities.