The spike in hate crime since the EU referendum has left some people frightened to leave their homes, the leader of Britain’s police chiefs has said.
Sara Thornton, chairwoman of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, made the comments as she revealed the number of hate crime incidents reported to a national police portal since the vote has been five times the typical weekly level, new figures have revealed.
Between last Thursday and Wednesday this week, 331 incidents were reported to the police-funded True Vision, compared to the weekly average of 63 reports. All the incidents are under active investigation.
The rise is in part due to the “extensive focus on this issue in the last few days”, which has encouraged more people to report, Ms Thornton said.
“Like the vast, vast majority of people, I have been shocked and disgusted at some the cases of racial or anti-immigrant abuse that have been reported this week,” she said.
BBC radio presenter Trish Adudu said she was racially abused this by a cyclist who told her to ‘go home’.
The 47-year-old presenter for BBC Radio Coventry and Warwickshire said she had been walking to her car in Coventry when the incident happened.
Analysis of reports shows an increase in community tension directed at the migrant community since the referendum.
Migrants have reported to the police verbal abuse, negative social media remarks, xenophobic comments anti-migrant leaflets, and in some instances, physical assault.
Ms Thornton added: “More people are reporting hate crime than ever before but it is still significantly underreported.
“I’ve heard of a small number of people this week saying they feel scared to leave the house.
“We are there to deal with this kind of abuse so our message to them is don’t give way to bullies and don’t suffer in silence.”
Forces have now been asked to provide weekly hate crime returns, which will be collated centrally.
Spikes in tension after major events usually return to previous levels relatively quickly, the former chief constable of Thames Valley Police said, and the figures only represent a very small minority of people “behaving unacceptably
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