Hate crimes against Chinese people rocket due to 'absurd' Covid-19 notions
Hate crimes against Chinese people in the West Midlands have rocketed due to the "absurd" view that they are responsible for the coronavirus pandemic, police chiefs have warned.
West Midlands Police say hate crime hit record levels across the region last month, with 921 incidents recorded – up 43 per cent on the previous month.
A report to the region's Strategic Police and Crime Board says there were 2,025 hate crimes in the period April to June, a rise of 25 per cent on the previous quarter.
And the report warns that Chinese communities are being "victimised" due to the Covid-19 crisis, with increasing reports of people being harassed and assaulted.
It says that in Walsall there has been a spike in hate crime against "anyone who looks like they are of Chinese descent", while the University of Birmingham said the "unease" among the Chinese community was reflected by reports of hate crime from Chinese students in relation to Covid-19.
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, said: "The West Midlands has always led the way in friendly and positive community relations. I wish to make it clear to those people who seem to think Chinese people living in the UK are responsible for Covid-19 that this view is absurd and any hate crime and abuse will not be tolerated.
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"Chinese people make a huge contribution to our community and our economy and our officers will continue to do all they can to ensure the safety and welfare of all Chinese people living in our region.
"We are working closely with local universities, who have a large number of Chinese students and also looking closely at the support we have in place to help victims can cope and recover after incidents."
This year West Midlands Police has received 38 reported hate crimes against Chinese people.
The report says that racially motivated hate crime continued to account for the majority of reports in the latest quarter, with 1,303 incidents recorded (80.7 per cent).
Homophobic hate crimes were second highest with 189 offences (11.7 per cent), while religious hate crime has increased since the previous quarter, with the majority of incidents involving abuse directed towards Muslims.
Meanwhile, in Walsall there was a rise in hate crime towards Eastern European communities for "supposedly not following lockdown rules".
