Surge in anti-semitic crimes after recording changed

CHANGES to recording procedures could partly explain a surge in the number of anti-Semitic crimes, Britain's largest police force said today.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said a record number of bigoted attacks was "deeply troubling" when national figures were published last month.

The Community Security Trust, which monitors attacks on Jews, recorded 924 incidents in 2009, the highest number since records began in 1984.

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Almost half of the reports (460) took place in London, many during protests against an Israeli ground invasion into Gaza.

In Yorkshire, strips of bacon were arranged in the shape of a star of David and stuck on the fence of a home where a Jewish family lived with the word "Jewboy" written underneath.

A 12-year-old girl, the only Jew at her school, was attacked by a mob of up to 20 fellow pupils who pulled her hair and chanted: "death to Jews, kill all Jews".

The Metropolitan Police said 258 crimes were recorded out of these reports, a 60% rise on the 160 similar offences in 2008.

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But a spokeswoman said the way hate crimes were recorded was changed in December 2008 to improve standards and give a truer reflection of reported incidents.

She said there was also a "growing willingness" among victims of hate crime to contact police because of better awareness among officers and improved support.

The statistics provoked questions to London Mayor Boris Johnson about what was being done to bring those responsible to justice.

He said the majority of crimes were malicious communications, public order, harassment, common assault and criminal damage, including graffiti.

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Among them were 26 allegations from a single person relating to offensive material found on the internet.

In a written answer published this week, Mr Johnson said 13 suspects were arrested by police.

Of these, seven were prosecuted and two cautioned. No further action was taken against three others and one suspect is one bail.

The latest Metropolitan Police figures showed 155 anti-Semitic offences were recorded in 2007, 160 in 2008 and 258 in 2009.

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The police spokeswoman added: "In December 2008 we changed the way in which we recorded hate crime to help improve recording standards.

"These changes will give a truer reflection of reported incidents, allowing us to better understand where these offences are happening so we can respond to them more effectively with our partners.

"Additionally, this updated system also allows us to improve our services to victims by better identifying any communication and support needs that victims of disability, racial, faith hate, homophobic and transphobic hate crime may have."

The majority of incidents recorded by the Community Security Trust, from violence to desecration of Jewish properties, took place in London (460), followed by Manchester (206), Hertfordshire (48) and Leeds (35).

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They included an incident in which a Jewish man driving an electric wheelchair was rammed by a car after leaving a synagogue. The driver shouted "Jew, Jew" at him and he escaped with minor injuries.

Mr Brown said anti-Semitism was one of the "most ancient of hatreds" and requires "ever greater vigilance from all of us".