Recommendation 7

HM Government Not Addressed

27. The Committee asked that Government ensure police officers are appropriately trained to effectively deal with hate crimes targeted at Muslim women. The Government recognises the importance of ensuring officers are appropriately trained to recognise, record and respond to hate crime, including offences affecting Muslim women. 28. The College of Policing is responsible for setting national training standards and developing Authorised Professional Practice (APP), including on hate crime. The Home Office works closely with the College of Policing to ensure that guidance reflects evidential and operational requirements. Individual forces are responsible for delivering training locally in accordance with those standards. 29. Across the country, a number of individual forces have implemented hate crime awareness and training initiatives. This is facilitated by resources made available online as well as through collaborating with external organisations. This supports police officers with the skills required to effectively identify, record and respond to hate crimes, including those perpetrated against Muslim women. 30. As an independent prosecuting authority, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) operates separately from Government, and Ministers cannot make commitments on its behalf. However, the CPS engages directly with the College of Policing on the development of hate crime learning products and keeps its published legal guidance under continuous review to ensure it remains accurate and up to date. 31. We recognise the significance of robust data in developing proportionate, effective and evidence-led policy interventions that meaningfully support the communities we serve. The Home Office already collects and publishes a range of information on religious hate crimes and racially or religiously aggravated offences. This includes data identifying whether religious hate crime offences were targeted at Muslims, and the ethnicity of the victim in aggravated offences. Information is also collected on the sex of victims. 32. We welcome the Committee’s recommendation on the Government working with police to improve ethnicity data collection. Home Office statisticians are working with forces to improve the collection of victim ethnicity data. 33. Additionally, the Government is funding the BMT to monitor and report incidents, increase awareness of a hate crime, encourage victims to report incidents and facilitate support for these victims, including Muslim women and girls who are targeted. 34. We recognise the valuable role that Mayors can play in working with local partners to address issues that affect their communities, including those highlighted in the Report. Under the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill (EDCEB), Mayors of Strategic Authorities have strengthened convening powers that enable them to bring together local partners to respond collectively to local challenges. 35. We therefore agree with the Committee and believe that Mayors are well placed to work with community organisations to raise awareness of the reporting service and help ensure that information reaches Muslim communities across their areas. The BMT already work alongside a network of local and national partners and stakeholders, and the additions of Mayors will be worthwhile in the joint effort to combat hate against Muslims. 36. Following the launch of the BMT helpline in October 2025, the Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities wrote a letter to Local Authorities, encouraging them to share the details of the helpline with constituents, colleagues and the local community. The Government will write to all UK Mayors encouraging them to do the same and promote the reporting service.