Joanna Williams Joanna Williams

What the increase in hate crime really tells us about post-Brexit Britain

It’s official: there is 41 per cent more hatred in Britain now than there was before the vote to quit the EU. Home Office statistics out this week reveal the torrent of religious and racist fury that was unleashed on June 23rd. Only a reversal of the democratic will of the people can possibly save us now.

Really? We all need to calm down. The recently invented and chillingly Orwellian concept of ‘hate crime’ tells us absolutely nothing about the state of the post-referendum, pre-Brexit nation.

Hate crime is defined as ‘any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone based on a personal characteristic.’ In other words, hate crime statistics are a record of hurt feelings. Hate crime is not found in the act of violence or damage to property. Rather, hate crime is the intention. It’s found in the mind.

Once, the punishment for impure thoughts was a round of Hail Marys and a dozen Our Fathers. Absolution required confession; you knew you had sinned. Hate crime might be a sin of bad intent, but it doesn’t have to be located in the mind of the perpetrator. It’s the mind of the victim that counts: if they suspect they were targeted because of their race, religion, sexuality or gender identity, then a hate crime has been committed.

It’s not just victims of hate crime who are now apparently blessed with mind reading powers: anyone who sees or hears about what happened, long after the incident occurred, can take offence on their behalf and declare a hate crime to have been committed. First and foremost it’s police who hear about crimes and they can apply the ‘hate’ label, and with it a greater chance of conviction, regardless of the intention of the perpetrator or the wishes of the victim.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in