Hate crimes against Muslims TWICE as likely to be prosecuted as those against Jews

By comparison, just 3.8 per cent of hate crimes directed at Jewish people progressed to charges during the same period, representing only one in 26 cases.

The statistics, covering 35 of England and Wales's 43 police forces, indicate Muslim victims were 76 per cent more likely to see perpetrators face prosecution, reports The Times.

Police recorded 4,478 religious hate crimes with Muslim victims during the period, compared with 2,873 incidents targeting Jewish individuals.

Despite the higher absolute number of reports involving Muslims, the data paints a different picture when population size is considered.

Separate annual Home Office statistics demonstrate that Jewish people face a dramatically elevated risk of being targeted.

Religious hate crimes occur at a rate of 106 per 10,000 of the Jewish population, whereas the equivalent figure for Muslims stands at just 12 per 10,000, meaning Jewish individuals are nearly ten times more likely to experience religiously motivated offences relative to their community's size.

The prosecution gap widens considerably when examining individual offence categories.

For religiously aggravated assault causing no injury, crimes against Muslims were more than six times as likely to result in charges, 6.3 per cent compared with merely 1.1 per cent for Jewish victims.

Criminal damage with a religious or racial element showed a fourfold difference, with 3.4 per cent of anti-Muslim cases proceeding to prosecution versus 0.8 per cent where Jewish people were targeted.

The most commonly reported offence for both communities was causing religiously aggravated public fear, alarm or distress. Even here, prosecution rates for Muslim victims exceeded those for Jewish victims by approximately a fifth, at 9.2 per cent against 6.7 per cent.

Jewish organisations have welcomed the publication of these figures while demanding the Government investigate why their community receives less consistent treatment from the criminal justice system.

The Community Security Trust, which works to protect British Jews, said: "These figures raise serious questions about consistency in the criminal justice response to hate crime.

"Every victim of hate crime deserves the same level of protection and justice, so it is vital that the reasons behind this disparity are examined to ensure that all communities have confidence that offences against them will be pursued consistently."

The Crown Prosecution Service noted that direct comparisons between reported crimes and prosecutions are problematic, as charging decisions require complete evidence files from police.

The CPS added it is currently handling unprecedented volumes of hate crime referrals.

A government spokesman responded that threatening, abusive or harassing behaviour has no place in British communities, adding that anyone inciting religious hatred should expect to face the law's full force.

The Home Secretary has announced record funding to safeguard faith communities, with £73.4million allocated for 2026 to 2027 to provide protective security at Jewish, Muslim and other religious sites.

Ministers have also committed to conducting an independent review of public order and hate crime legislation to determine whether current laws adequately shield communities from intimidation and hatred.

Fiyaz Mughal, who founded the anti-Muslim hate monitoring group Tell Mama, suggested the charging rate gap may widen further following the government's recent introduction of an official definition of anti-Muslim hostility.