Reporting was made easier for a reason. Whilst any crime runs the risk of people falsely claiming it occurred, it would be wrong to assume or suggest that making it easier to report a crime means that the subsequent increase in reported crime is down to people reporting crimes that have not been committed.
Whatever the actual figures, anecdotally I think it is clear intolerance has been given a boost in the current climate. So, whether you want to use crime statistics, other facts or gut instinct, Britain post-2016 has been an uglier place to be. The reasons behind why that might be are another matter (it is far too simple, I think, to simply blame Brexit itself), but I would argue that it is demonstrably the case.