Since 1948, immigration from the West Indies and the Indian Subcontinent occurred in substantial numbers due to labour shortages in Britain after World War II. Immigration started to increase in the 1950s and 1960s and the influx different cultures created different ethnic communities. However, instances of documented and perceived racism and heavy-handed policing by the native English population has led to a number of riots, most notably in 1958, 1981, 1985 and 2011. When Britain joined the EEC in 1973, the level of migration from Western European nations increased. Migration from newer EU member states in Central and Eastern Europe have resulted in a growing Eastern European population since 2004, however after the Brexit Referendum in 2016, numbers started declining.