Tackling the issues of race crime (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Tackling the issues of race crime

9:02am Tuesday 30th June 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share

The rise in the annual number of racially or religiously motivated crimes reported in West Yorkshire over the last decade makes disturbing reading.

Yet the general perception is that society has taken and continues to take major strides forward in race relations and religious tolerance.

So are these figures evidence that this is not the case?

Firstly we must look at what other changes have taken place over that timescale.

An increased awareness and intolerance of such crimes must surely mean that more people are prepared to report them.

Then there are changes to policing with officers becoming more aware of these types of crimes and better at handling them, leading to more victims coming forward.

West Yorkshire Police believe this is the case and cite the setting up of more than 200 Hate Incident Reporting Centres to handle victims’ complaints as the sort of initiatives that are working.

And perhaps a better understanding of what constitutes a racially or religiously motivated crime may also have added to the figures.

Yet while this might account for some of the increase, it is hard to believe it is the whole story.

And even if it were, that does not alter the fact that there were 2,493 such offences reported in 2007/08 across the county.

However one interprets the figures, and while noting they are now falling, it is clear that there can be no room for complacency in tackling this issue.

• Print
• Email
• Share