Hindus are the second most likely religion to have been victims of religiously motivated hate crime, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales [1].
However, the London Assembly is concerned that Hindu hate crime is not being effectively recorded by police services.
Because of this, it is today calling on the Metropolitan Police Service to work with local Hindu communities to encourage confidence in reporting Hindu hate crime.
It is also calling on the Service to include the break down of hate crime by religion on the Crime Dashboard.
Krupesh Hirani AM, who proposed the motion, said:
“Hinduphobia has absolutely no place in London and beyond. Sadly there has been a worrying rise in hate crimes faced by our community has over the past year.
“Given that Hindus are the second most-likely group to face religiously motivated hate crime, but that this isn’t seen in police data, shows that the police must, first, record this better and, secondly, respond to it better.
“I am pleased that the London Assembly supports holding the Metropolitan Police to account so that they build the confidence held in them by our community.”
The full text of the motion is:
This Assembly wishes a Happy Diwali to all Londoners that celebrate.
This Assembly notes that recent statistics from the Home Office show that in 2022/2023 there were 291 hate crimes, accounting for 3 per cent of recorded by the police in England and Wales, against Hindus. This is an increase on the previous year which saw 161 recorded hate crimes. These figures also show that the number of racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by the police by month have increased since 2015 [1]. This Assembly notes that there are no public statistics on the number of religiously motivated hate crime by religion on the Metropolitan Police Service Crime Dashboard.
This Assembly further notes that despite having the second lowest figure of recorded hate crimes, in 2022, Hindus formed the second most likely religion to have been victims of religiously motivated hate crime according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales [2]. This suggests that Hindu hate crime is not being effectively recorded by police services.
This Assembly welcomes the Mayor’s leadership in celebrating London’s diverse communities and enjoyed seeing Londoners celebrating the festival of lights with Diwali on Trafalgar Square.
This Assembly calls for the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to work with local Hindu communities to encourage confidence in reporting Hindu hate crime. The Assembly further calls for the MPS to include the break down of hate crime by religion on the Crime Dashboard.
Notes to editors
- Home Office, Hate crime, England and Wales, 2022 to 2023, published 5 October 2023.
- House of Commons Library, Hate Crime Statistics, published 2 November 2022
- Watch the full webcast.
- The motion was agreed unanimously.
- Krupesh Hirani AM, who proposed the motion, is available for interviews.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
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