Recorded Religious Hate Crime Rate Against Jews Nearly Nine Times Muslim Rate
The figures show a disproportionate recorded burden on Jewish communities. They count offences, not unique victims or an individual’s probability of being attacked.
Jews in England and Wales faced a police recorded religious hate crime rate nearly nine times the rate targeting Muslims in the year ending March 2026, according to an analysis of Home Office figures. Police recorded 3,162 offences targeting Jews, a 10% increase from 2,874 the previous year.
The population adjusted comparison used 116.5 offences per 10,000 Jewish residents and 13.3 per 10,000 Muslim residents. Dividing those rates gives approximately 8.8. The Jewish Chronicle identified The Telegraph as the source of the analysis, while the Home Office published rounded rates of 117 and 13.
A small community, a large recorded burden
The comparison uses population estimates from the 2021 Census, rather than simply comparing raw totals. The census counted about 271,000 people identifying their religion as Jewish in England and Wales, against a much larger Muslim population. That explains why a smaller total can produce a higher rate.
Police recorded 5,132 offences targeting Muslims, up 15% from 4,479. Those incidents were more numerous in absolute terms, but the Jewish population’s much smaller denominator produced the markedly higher recorded rate. Both counts come from the same religious hate crime series.
The Home Office release, published on October 8, recorded 11,419 religious hate crimes overall, up 13% from 10,067. Across all monitored hate crime categories, the total was 146,825. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole United Kingdom.
What the comparison measures
The rate is a count of recorded offences divided by a population estimate. It does not mean Jewish individuals were proven to be 8.8 times more likely to become victims. One person can report several offences, and an offence may affect more than one person.
The Home Office distinguishes police records from its separate crime survey. The survey measures experiences over different periods and does not cover public order offences, which account for a substantial part of police recorded hate crime. The two sources therefore answer different questions.
Recording changes and the community response
Changes to the Metropolitan Police recording system in February 2024 complicate comparison with earlier years. The Home Office excludes the force from longer trend analysis. Without the Met, police recorded 2,003 offences targeting Jews and 3,660 targeting Muslims in the latest year.
Police figures also depend on reporting and the correct application of a hate crime flag. They cannot capture every incident, and the population comparison does not adjust for age, geography or reporting behaviour. These are limits of the measurement, not a reason to disregard the reported offences.
The Community Security Trust described antisemitic hate crime as remaining at an unacceptably high level and called for action against incitement connected with overseas conflict. The new release supplies a concrete measure of the burden reported to police, with Jewish communities recording the highest religious hate crime rate.
