Public in England and Wales wrongly think most killers are minority ethnic

People surveyed thought 55% of convicted killers were from an ethnic minority, when the real figure was 35%. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

The public overestimate how many minority ethnic people are killers, as well as how many foreign national offenders there are, a new study has found.

The research from King’s College London tested knowledge and perceptions of crime at a time when radical right parties are trying to link offending to ethnicity and nationality to gain votes.