Hate crimes soared around Brexit vote: UK police

Vote Leave supporters wear Union flags, following the result of the EU referendum, outside Downing Street in London, on June 25, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

British police have expressed concern over a sharp increase in the number of hate crimes perpetrated in the United Kingdom in the weeks before and after the country's vote to leave the European Union (EU).
According to a report published by the UK's National Police Chief's Council (NPCC) on Friday, over 3,000 incidents were reported to police across Britain between June 16 and 30, a 42-percent surge as compared to the same period in 2015.
"We now have a clear indication of the increases in the reporting of hate crime nationally and can see that there has been a sharp rise in recent weeks," said Mark Hamilton, a lead officer with the NPCC.
"This is unacceptable and it undermines the diversity and tolerance we should instead be celebrating," he added.
Hamilton also noted that on June 25, the day after the EU referendum result was released, there was a peak in offenses with 289 reported incidents.
The most common of the 3,076 offenses reported was harassment, whether common assault, verbal abuse or spitting, he said.
British officials also confirmed the report, saying the vast majority of these incidents involve abusive and offensive language, adding that anti-refugee sentiment has also been on the rise in the UK.
In the latest incident, a Polish man suffered “significant injuries” following a “racially aggravated assault” by two men on the day the referendum result was announced.
The 30-year-old victim was walking in the street as two men approached him and asked if he spoke English, before repeatedly punching and kicking him.
Police said he sustained an eye injury, a fractured cheekbone and substantial bruising to his body.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who announced he would resign in the fall over the Brexit vote, raised the issue in parliament, referring to the deadly assault as "despicable" graffiti and abuse directed at members of ethnic minorities.
"We will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks, they must be stamped out," he told lawmakers.
Hate crime is defined as an offense, perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic.
In the June 23 referendum, about 52 percent of British voters opted to leave the EU, while roughly 48 percent of the people voted to stay in the union. More than 17.4 million Britons said the country should leave the bloc just over 16.14 million others favored remaining in the EU.