UK hate crimes drop after post-Brexit surge

The number of hate crimes reported in Britain have dropped from the sudden post-Brexit surge, the British National Police Chiefs' Council said on Thursday.

Following the June 23 Brexit referendum, crimes motivated by the victims' social position, nationality, ethnicity, or religion increased by 58 per cent, urging police to record weekly data on these attacks.

"We have seen continued decreases in reports of hate crimes to forces and these reports have now returned to formerly seen levels for 2016," said NPCC Lead for Hate Crime, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton, adding that the weekly updates would now stop.

He said the end of weekly updates did not mean hate crimes were not a priority and urged people to continue reporting them.

"Police forces will continue with their robust response and we will react swiftly to any future signs of tension," he said.

On August 27, a Polish man was killed by a group of youths in Essex, east of London.

--IANS

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