Exclusive: Race and religious hate crimes on the rise.

Reports 22nd January, 2016

Figures obtained by the Bristol Cable from Avon and Somerset Police show that the the attack on Totterdown Mosque is the tip of the iceberg.

At a time of mounting tension around migration and inter-community issues, hate crimes categorised as religiously motivated rose by almost 16% in 2015, recorded by Avon and Somerset Police.

This is within an overall rise in hate crimes, rising from from 1,723 in 2014 to 1,847 in 2015, an increase of 7%. The vast majority of these incidents, 85%, are flagged as race-related. 6% are recorded as related to religious hatred. (A record can have more than category.)

Increase in incidents of hate crimes in 2015 from previous year, as recorded by Avon and Somerset Police.

YEAR	All Hate	Race	Religious
2014	1723	1462	103
2015	1847	1574	119

% Increase	7.20%	7.66%	15.53%

% of total
2014	100%	84.85%	5.98%
2015	100%	85.22%	6.44%

Find the FOI request results here: FOI: Hate Crimes, Avon and Somerset Police. January 2016

Read more on: police, race and racism, religion

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