Working Together to Tackle Hate Crime

This week the Hindu Community locally and globally celebrated Diwali, or the Festival of Lights as it is also known.  As part of this festival, small clay lamps are lit which symbolise the triumph of good over evil.

There has been a small Hindu community in Northern Ireland for some years, the actual number would be around 1,000 members, making this the third largest minority ethnic population.  The wider Indian community have been present in Northern Ireland from around the 1920's with members mostly working in the food industry and as GP's, doctors and consultants.

Sadly members of minority ethnic groups do not always feel welcome in Northern Ireland and this week our Policing with the Community Branch have been hosting a Hate and Signal Crime workshop in Belfast.  This event marks the introduction of a new role within Neighbourhood Policing Teams - Hate and Signal Crime Officers (HSCOs) will be taking over an enhanced monitoring and review role from the previous Hate Incident and Minority Liaison Officers.

The role of the HSCOs is to improve the quality of service we give to victims of hate crime and to increase community confidence in the Police Service to encourage more victims of Hate Crime to come forward and report these crimes.  We welcome the input, involvement and support of our key partners at the event: Victim Support, Chinese Welfare Association, Polish Association, Rainbow Project and Disability Action. 

Working together we can address underreporting, improve and achieve best evidence in our investigations and raise our clearance rates.  We are also seeking, in partnership with our criminal justice partners, to obtain the evidence which will permit the courts to increase sentencing for offences that are aggravated by hostility based on the victims' actual or presumed religion, race, sexual orientation or disability.

The community have a wider responsibility to make Northern Ireland a hostile place for perpetrators of hate crime and to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, race or religion, feels welcome and safe in the community where they live, work or socialise.  I would encourage anyone who can assist us in preventing or detecting hate crime to proactively support us.   Hate crime is not acceptable under any circumstances, and by working together we can ensure this message is understood by everyone.