Race hate crime at record level in Northern Ireland

Race hate crime is at a record level in Northern Ireland, new data released from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) shows.

In the 12 months to the end of June, there were 1,329 crimes with a race motivation.

This is up by 434 year-on-year and is the highest figure since records began in 2004.

Responding to the new data, Amnesty International said: “This has been a year of hate and fear in Northern Ireland and a shameful new record.”

The figures include two cycles of street disorder in Belfast and Ballymena linked to protests over immigration.

The number of racially-motivated incidents over the period has also risen sharply to 2,049.

Around half the incidents occurred in the Belfast City Council area.

For the previous 12 months, the figure was 1,403.

In contrast, crimes and incidents linked to sectarianism show little change.

The number of sectarian crimes was recorded as 611.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty’s Northern Ireland director, said: “Behind these figures are real people, real families, living in terror simply because of the colour of their skin or where they come from.

“This hasn’t happened in a vacuum.

“This has been a crisis developing for years, fuelled by complacency and inaction.”

He called on the Northern Ireland Executive to show “decisive leadership” and deliver a new anti-racism strategy.