Crimestarters: The Faces Behind Northern Ireland’s Misdeeds
By Katie McShane
On the evening of June 8th, Stephen Ogilvie was brutally attacked by Hadi Alodid, a Sudanese man who has been residing in the UK since 2023. He was granted refugee status that same year and was permitted to remain in the UK until 2028. In the days following the attack, disorder broke out in large-scale riots, damaging cars, households, and public property. The reason? A protest, steeped in racism, against immigration. Promoted online by the likes of Elon Musk, the Tuesday and Wednesday nights saw masked crowds take to the streets expressing their outrage. A harrowing crime was committed, and anger understandable – but is it misplaced? Fighting violence with more violence and hypocritical claims, should NI take a look at who is really perpetuating crime on our streets?
Below is a table detailing arrests from April 2022 to March 2025 by race/ethnicity. 2024-2025 saw 9,606 white people arrested and charged, which is over 9,000 more than any other ethnicity. Only 862 charges were against those not classed as white [1]. It’s obvious to see that the majority of crime in Northern Ireland is perpetrated by white, presumably Northern Irish people. This is understandable, with white Northern Irish being the majority; however, that same year, 1,806 racially motivated hate crimes were committed, which has only gone up in 2026. Race incidents and crime as a whole are on the rise. Out of the 2,367 race crimes in 2026, 27% were against white people, with other communities making up the staggering 1,727 [2]. By these numbers, the hateful rhetoric spread falls flat on its face. Time and time again, minorities and migrants are blamed for crime statistics that they don’t inflate, whilst falling victim to racial crimes themselves.
It is through these statistics that the hypocrisy of the riots shines most clearly. Men and women protesting their displeasure with an isolated incident by tarring an entire community with the same brush and systemically organising to evoke violence on the streets. Across the two nights of violence, innocent Belfast communities were terrorised. Children were put out of their homes, escorted through hell by riot police, and ordinary civilians lost their homes in the hate-fuelled fires set by these ‘protestors’. Businesses were even ordered to shut down by the anonymous teams online who organised the entire affair, with roads closed and traffic disrupted. Not to mention taking up police time and supplies that could have been used to prevent the very crimes these groups want to prevent.
When we consider the rising sexual crime rates and crimes against a person, the double standard is clear as day. It seems as if there is one rule for migrants and another for Northern Irish natives. Northern Ireland is becoming known for its worryingly high femicide rates, and yet there are no angry mobs taking up arms over this. It is only when a person of colour or migrant commits a crime that sparks a reaction, so much so that the nation has come to expect extreme violence and backlash. How long are we going to let this continue? Allowing vicious mobs to tear up our streets and blame government protocol and immigration policy for it. It is high time for Northern Ireland to look beyond the hypocritical front and point the finger at the true perpetrators of crime.
References
1 – Questions to the Police Constable: Race and Ethnicity, Northern Ireland Policing Board, 6th November 2025, Race / Ethnicity | Northern Ireland Policing Board
2 – Incidents and Crimes with a Hate Motivation Recorded by the Police in Northern Ireland, Police Service of Northern Ireland and NISRA, 31st March 2026, Incidents and Crimes with a Hate Motivation Recorded by the Police in Northern Ireland Update to 31st March 2026
Police Recorded Crime in Northern Ireland, Police Service of Northern Ireland and NISRA, 31st May 2026, Police recorded crime in Northern Ireland Monthly updated to 31 May 2026
