Northern Ireland records surge in race hate crimes

The province is among many parts of the UK facing a spike in attacks on ethnic minorities, after a knife assault by a teen of Rwandan descent in July

Hate crimes against members of minority ethnic communities in Northern Ireland have jumped by a third in the last 12 months, the local police service (PSNI) reported on Tuesday.

According to provisional calculations based on operational statistics, 409 more crimes designated as racially motivated were reported in the UK province between September 2023 and September 2024 compared with the previous 12 months.

PSNI assistant chief constable Bobby Singleton described the trend as “really stark,” noting that the latest jump in incidents occurred amid anti-immigration protests in the province and across the UK in early August. The unrest was sparked by a knife attack at a dance workshop in Southport, England, in late July, when a teenager of Rwandan descent stabbed three children to death and injured eight others.

Following rioting and a standoff between anti-immigration and anti-racism protesters in south Belfast on August 3, sporadic attacks on businesses and homes owned by minority ethnic people have been reported across all of Northern Ireland.

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“What we saw at the start of August was really disheartening in terms of… really disgusting scenes of violence and damage to property. It was something that has caused massive fear and concern among the black and minority ethnic community,” Singleton said, adding that 20 officers were injured during the riots. He noted that the PSNI has so far made 45 arrests and charged 35 people in connection with the disorder. The official suggested that the real number of ethnically motivated hate crimes could be much larger than police figures, as many people fear reporting on their assailants and risking more attacks.

Singleton described it as “totally unacceptable” that people should be targeted “simply because of who they are or where they come from,” and condemned the August disorder as having “only one purpose, to incite hatred.” The official pledged that all assailants linked with race hate crimes will be brought to justice.

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Over 400 people have been arrested across the UK in riots linked to the Southport stabbing, according to media reports. In his speech following the unrest, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the “far-right hatred” fueling the disorder, and vowed to give police additional powers to tackle similar unrest in future. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also warned that anyone involved in “criminal violence and disorder” would “pay the price.”