A campaign has been launched to encourage Muslims in Leeds to report hate crimes amid moves to improve the way police record such incidents.
The Building Bridges project, based at the Hamara Centre in Beeston, is behind the Report It! initiative, which urges victims to come forward following concerns that many are staying quiet. It comes after West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson pledged to look at whether hate crimes could be recorded to show the numbers of offences committed against particular faith groups.
Tafazal Mohammad, Building Bridges project co-ordinator, said it was difficult to assess whether Islamophobic crime had risen. He said:
“In some parts of London there is evidence that anti-Muslim hate crimes have gone up several hundred per cent. In Leeds we have got anecdotal evidence, but we want to be a bit more statistical in terms of trying to identify the extent of the problem. A lot of people won’t report it because they think it’s a waste of time and nothing will be done about it. We’re trying to say that if they don’t report it, in a sense they can’t complain if nothing is done.”