Race hate is up again in Northern Ireland - what needs to change?

New figures showing the largest number of race hate incidents on record is "disheartening" but not surprising, a campaigner has said.

Earlier this week, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said there were 2,260 race hate incidents recorded last year - the highest level of reports since records began in 2004.

It comes after a number of high-profile incidents in the last few weeks, including racist graffiti dobbed on a Belfast apartment building and a letter containing sectarian and Islamophobic messaging being shared on social media.

PSNI Chief Inspector Paddy Mullan said while more incidents were being reported, many victims are still not coming forward.

Dr Imani Strong, vice chair of the North West Migrants Forum, said racism is "everyone's issue" and people within communities, as well as politicians and policymakers have a "huge role" in making sure it is tackled head on.

Strong, who is an anthropologist, said she was dismayed by the "massive increase" in reports and there are a "combination of factors" contributing to why that may be.

"I think that social media does feed it but I think that is intentional and its algorithmic," she told BBC News NI.

"I think there are politicians who have found it expedient to scapegoat migrants and people of colour in particular who are migrating to Western countries."

People also need to be more willing to discuss race and have "hard conversations" with those perpetuating "deeply problematic" rhetoric as people do not fear any social repercussions, Strong added.

She said the rise in racism, particularly in online spaces, cause many people from minority backgrounds to feel anxious, or think twice before posting online.

"Everyone is always affected by racism because it erodes community cohesion," she explained.

"Its easy to get fatigued… but behind every single data point is an actual human being that we know and whose kids are still waking up or having nightmares and who is looking over their shoulder when they're going to the grocery store and wondering if they're safe.

"So we do all have to continue to confront this and I think the biggest way we can do that... is by educating, particularly our kids, and getting into the schools, teaching about race in a way is informative, about what racism is but also empowers them to interrupt it."

From 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, the PSNI recorded 2,260 race incidents and crimes recorded, 488 more than the year before.

Of these, 1,430 were race hate crimes and two in five of all recorded incidents took place within the Belfast City district.

Following a period of unrest in June 2025, police said 347 race hate incidents were recorded and this contributed to the higher figure.

However, the report added that levels remained "elevated" and the period between May and December 2025 made up eight of the 10 highest levels in the data.

Paula Bradshaw, who chairs Stormont's all-party group on ethnic minority communities, said the PSNI data was "deeply worrying" and many within her constituency of south Belfast feel "very vulnerable" going about their day-to-day lives.

"I do think that community tensions are being exploited through social media, online anti-immigration sentiment and I think that's sort of having a bleed into what's actually happening on the ground," she said.

"I think the other issue is this widespread fear that a lot of ethnic minority families experience just walking from school or their place of work... so I think there's just this general apprehension for people just trying to live their lives."

Bradshaw added racism and sectarianism are "two sides of the same coin" in that it is a societal issue that needs to be tackled.

"I think the other problem we see is there is a lot of rhetoric around ethnic minority communities, that they're coming in, they're taking our homes... and I think we need to push back against that because a lot of that online sentiment is factually incorrect," she explained.

"It can't just fall to the PSNI or policy or laws, it has to be about this wider integration piece that we all need to play a role in."

Chief Insp Mullan, the PSNI's deputy lead for hate crime, said he recognises many victims do not come forward and report race hate crimes.

"We've worked really hard to try and improve confidence for victims to come forward and report because we want to be able to provide victims with the support that they may need," he said.

"We want to provide victims with justice if they are being targeted because of who they are or where they're from."

Ch Insp Mullen said it was "absolutely abhorrent that people are targeted because of where they're from or who they are".

He added hate crime is a strategic priority for the PSNI "and we treat it as a priority".

"Every hate crime that is committed in or recorded in Northern Ireland, the district commander or the senior officer looks at them every single morning to scrutinise them to make sure that we have provided those victims with the support that they need and we've done a robust investigation around those incidents," he said.

"We are very clear around the support that we offer to hate crimes or to hate crime victims and that it is an absolute priority for policing, to protect the victims in society."