Migrant crime 'league tables' will fuel scapegoating, not safety

22 April 2025, 15:10

Most of us want to live in safe, welcoming communities.

But this government would rather turn us against each other than tackle real problems. The latest example? Plans to publish a “league table” of criminality by nationality – a move straight out of the far-right's playbook.

This isn’t about keeping anyone safe. It’s about scapegoating. The vast majority of crimes in the UK are committed by British citizens. But instead of investing in the services that prevent harm - from mental health support to youth programmes - ministers are fanning the flames of division and hoping we don’t notice the chaos they’ve created.

Publishing a ranking of nationalities is nothing more than data for theatre - a deliberate move to stoke fear and resentment, and a distraction from the government’s own failures. It’s an attack on both our immigration system and our criminal justice system, undermining the principles of fairness, rehabilitation and equality before the law.

Let’s be clear: when someone commits a crime, they should be held accountable. But publishing a list of nationalities won’t do that – instead, it punishes anyone who happens to share the country of origin as the person who committed the crime. Let’s put it another way, Gary Glitter sexually assaulted minors in Vietnam – should all British people be held accountable?

We’ve seen where this rhetoric leads. Less than a year ago, migrants and people of colour were attacked in their homes and neighbourhoods during the racist riots of August 2024. That violence didn’t come out of nowhere - it was lit by policies and headlines exactly like this one.The truth is, this doesn’t make anyone safer. It just fuels stigma.

The consequences will be felt far beyond the courtroom. Children will hear their friends’ nationalities named on the news in the context of crime. Families will be forced to justify their right to be here. Neighbours will begin to look at each other with suspicion. That’s the goal - to divide us.

But most of us see through it. We want fairness, not fear. We want communities where people are treated with dignity, no matter where they’re from. And we want a government that focuses on the real challenges facing our society - not one that weaponises migration to score political points.

Publishing this league table won’t fix anything. But it will hurt people. And the consequences - the next wave of division, discrimination, and violence - will lie squarely at Downing Street’s door.

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Ravishaan Rahel Muthiah is Communications Director at JCWI.

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