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The tide of racist offences investigated by West Midlands Police has swelled and swelled over the past decade.

Almost 30,000 racially or religiously aggravated offences have been recorded by the force since 2010, with the number gradually increasing year-on-year over the last few years.

A Freedom of Information request revealed a total of 29,156 racist offences committed in the West Midlands from 2010-2019 (inclusive), with the highest number of 4,134 being recorded in 2019.

Figures so far for 2020 (up to February 29) show police have received 716 reports of such crimes - a number that will lead to the biggest annual total yet if incidents continue at the same rate.

Police say hate crime is "completely unacceptable" and has been "historically under-reported", while Stand Up To Racism believe the EU Referendum helped add to the number of hate crimes.

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Police statement

Chief Superintendent Mat Shaer, West Midlands Police's hate crime lead, said: "We have many diverse and multi-cultural communities across the West Midlands and any type of hate crime is completely unacceptable.

"It was an historically under-reported crime and it's encouraging more victims are coming forward and telling us.

"We've tried to make it easier for communities to reach us through with third party reporting centres, getting relevant guidance and information translated into different languages and our hate crime app.

"We are committed to bringing offenders to justice and actively follow any lines of enquiry."

Stand Up To Racism

A Coventry spokesman for Stand Up To Racism said: "Any hate crime in society is always regrettable and should be firmly and clearly opposed.

"It is clear that the statistics record consistent rises in such crimes year-on-year since the unnecessarily toxic and xenophobic EU referendum campaign.

"Years of government austerity and the blaming of migrants for ideologically-driven government cuts to essential public services have further contributed to a rise in such crimes. Well-funded public services and a positive attitude to the contributions to our society of migrant groups would undoubtedly help to slow this increase in hate crimes and is what any society should aim for.

"Coventry is a city of sanctuary, peace and reconciliation and successfully provides a home to a variety of migrant communities. In this way Coventry provides an excellent example to other cities and this is something we hope to maintain by continuing to oppose racism locally."

Full numbers

Racially or religiously aggravated offences recorded by West Midlands Police Jan 1, 2010, and Feb 29, 2020:

2010 - 2,503

2011 - 2,352

2012 - 2,307

2013 - 2,608

2014 - 2,517

2015 - 2,743

2016 - 3,092

2017 - 3,305

2018 - 3,595

2019 - 4,134

2020 (so far) - 716

Total: 29,872