The Freethinker - The voice of atheism since 1881 » Witchcraft crime on the rise in the UK

A BBC investigation into faith-based crime, broadcast yesterday on Radio 5, claimed that a special Metropolitan Police team – Operation Violet – has seen a significant increase in reports of crimes related to witchcraft in London.

But other areas don’t have such specialist expertise and half of police forces in the UK are failing to record cases. Campaigners say children remain at risk in the absence of a coordinated national response to the problem.

The BBC reported here that the Metropolitan Police said there had been 60 crimes linked to faith in London so far this year. It saw reports double from 23 in 2013 to 46 in 2014.

The NSPCC said authorities:

Need to ensure they are able to spot the signs of this particular brand of abuse.

Terry Sharpe, from the Project Violet team, said cases remained small in number, but there had been a significant increase, covering a spectrum of seriousness.

The Freethinker - The voice of atheism since 1881 » Witchcraft crime on the rise in the UK