Campaign Against Antisemitism publishes the National Antisemitic Crime Audit. We obtain and analyse the latest national and regional figures for antisemitic crime from police forces across the United Kingdom.
increase in antisemitic hate crime since 2014 making 2016 the worst year on record
drop in charging of antisemitic hate crime since 2014
prosecutions for antisemitic hate crime in 2016
The most recent edition of the National Antisemitic Crime Audit was published on 16th July 2017, covering antisemitic crime in 2016. You can read the foreword below, or download the full report.
This year’s report makes for shocking reading. Ever since crime targeting British Jews began to surge in 2014, each successive year has set a new record for antisemitic crime, and each year fewer crimes have been charged. 2016 was the worst year on record for antisemitic crime, yet instead of protecting British Jews, the authorities prosecuted merely twenty cases of antisemitic hate crime, including merely two violent crimes.
In 2016, antisemitic crime grew by 14.9% compared to 2015 (44.5% compared to 2014), but only half of police forces charged any of the antisemitic crimes reported to them. The failure to enforce is especially alarming due the ferocity of antisemitic crime: 1 in 10 crimes involved violence. The failure of police forces and the Crown Prosecution Service to protect British Jews is a betrayal.
The authorities’ inaction is laid bare by the fact that Campaign Against Antisemitism has had to bring its first private prosecution of an antisemite, and gone to court to successfully overturn an indefensible decision not to prosecute a neo-Nazi.
Frontline police officers and prosecutors routinely fail to recognise common forms of antisemitism, or fail to take it seriously. Officers and prosecutors are being given insufficient training and oversight.
While we were delighted to see many of the recommendations we presented last year adopted in the government’s 2016 Hate Crime Action Plan, those responsible for implementing them have failed to do so. The solutions are simple, but whilst the right promises are being made, little has been implemented. The result is that British Jews continue to endure intolerable levels of hate crime.
This year we make exactly the same recommendations as we did last year: produce specific training and guidance on antisemitic hate crime for officers and prosecutors, developed in close consultation with us, in addition to the generic hate crime training that leaves officers and prosecutors ill-equipped to deal with the intricacies of antisemitism; instruct Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to review all police forces; appoint a senior officer in each force with responsibility for overseeing the response to antisemitic hate crime; and require the Crown Prosecution Service to record and regularly publish details of cases involving antisemitism and their outcomes.
Britain has the political will to fight antisemitism and strong laws with which to do it, but those responsible for tackling the rapidly growing racist targeting of British Jews are failing to enforce the law. There is a very real danger of Jewish citizens emigrating, as has happened elsewhere in Europe unless there is radical change.
The first edition of the National Antisemitic Crime Audit was published on 1st May 2016, covering antisemitic crime in 2014 and 2015. You can read the summary and foreword below, or download the full report.
In 2014, antisemitic crime broke all previous records. Many linked the surge in Jew-hatred across Britain to fighting between Israel and Hamas, and expected antisemitic crime levels to fall to a background level. That is not what happened.
Our team has analysed data provided from all of the police forces in the United Kingdom.
We now know that in 2015:
When the current wave of antisemitism began in 2014, politicians and police chiefs were quick to promise tough action. The day after Campaign Against
Antisemitism rallied outside the Royal Courts of Justice, the Prime Minister echoed our call for zero tolerance law enforcement against antisemites.
The promised crackdown has not materialised. In far too many cases, rank and file police officers and prosecutors often do not recognise some of the forms of antisemitism, or fail to take it seriously. Officers and prosecutors are not being given sufficient training or oversight.
The results speak for themselves. Antisemitic crime is climbing fast, violence against Jews is soaring, and the police response is gradually getting worse. If Britain is to escape the fate of other European countries, where antisemitism and extremism are rife and Jews are leaving in their thousands, we must train our frontline police officers and prosecutors, and properly oversee them.
We recommend:
This data should alarm those responsible for enforcing the law: they are failing British Jews badly. Britain has the political will to fight antisemitism and strong laws with which to do it, but in too many cases, those responsible for tackling the rapidly growing racist targeting of British Jews are failing to enforce the law.
If the situation continues to deteriorate, the Jewish community will be faced with the kind of rampant antisemitism seen in other European countries, which has left Jews feeling fearful and abandoned, many of them convinced that they have no choice but to emigrate.
The time to act was 2014. The authorities can still make up for lost time, but the window is closing. Britain’s fight against antisemitism and extremism cannot be allowed to fail.
The UK has one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect communities from hostility, violence and bigotry. But we must ensure that these laws are rigorously enforced and that victims feel confident about coming forward to report crimes. I welcome this review by the Campaign Against Antisemitism and we will consider its recommendations carefully as we develop our new Hate Crime Action Plan.
