THE number of Islamophobic hate crimes reported to police in North Yorkshire has fallen - but one Muslim in York said the figures did not reflect her experieces.

In the year to September 2022, there were 17 reports of Islamophobia made to North Yorkshire Police, down from 27 in the year to September 2019, and 45 in the year to September 2018.

The most common types of offence reported were violence against the victim and public order offences, and the most common locations were in the street, on a bus, and in schools.

However, one worshipper at York Mosque, who did not wish to be identified, said: “I’m not surprised to see that Islamophobia reports have declined, I don’t bother to report it to police as I wouldn’t expect them to do anything.

“As a woman who wears hijab, I don’t always feel safe walking around York and there have been recent times where my safety felt at risk. I don’t feel I can relax in York sometimes, I get stared and shouted at by people.”

North Yorkshire Police said that each report of hate crime is categorised  – religious being one category – but the person reporting the crime may not provide enough specific details for it to have been recognised as Islamophobia specifically.

From April 2020 to 2021, the force recorded 518 religious hate crimes, however 498 reports did not specify which religion. Muslims were the second highest at 11.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: “Hate crime in any form is extremely damaging to both individuals and communities and we are absolutely committed to driving it out.

“We have around 1,000 hate crimes reported each year in North Yorkshire and this figure continues to rise year-on-year.

"We view this as an encouraging sign that more people have the confidence to report hate crime incidents so we can investigate and give victims the support they deserve.

"Our team is working hard to build relationships with communities, groups and organisations across North Yorkshire, providing training, guidance and education to help everyone understand what constitutes a hate crime and the many channels available to report it.

“We take every report of hate crime very seriously and be clear, it will not be tolerated here in North Yorkshire.”

Jen Mitchell, director of personal development for South Bank Trust, said: “Across our primary schools, pupils are supported to learn the importance of inclusion and not discriminating against certain groups, and demonstrate tolerance and respect for different faiths, including Islam.

“At Millthorpe, students from Year 7 to 11 are taught to safely challenge prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination, including racism and religious discrimination such as Islamophobia.

“Students consider how social media can distort information to influence opinion, and they are supported to manage conflicting news and misleading information.

“We have visitors from different faiths into schools, and pupils also going on trips to a variety of different religious centres.”