New measures to support victims of hate crime, bring more perpetrators to justice and increase reporting of these crimes were outlined today by the government.
The Hate Crime Action Plan sets out government work to address all forms of hate crime with an emphasis on preventing these crimes from occurring or escalating in seriousness.
The plan sets out how local organisations like the police and councils will get new advice on the ways to deal with hate crime. This includes new guidance on preventing hate crime and a training toolkit for crime reduction bodies to improve the identification of and support for vulnerable witnesses.
It also sets out work to better tackle hate crime by boosting victims’ confidence in the justice system to help to increase reporting of these crimes.
The work includes:
* new standards for police in the investigation and recording of hate crime;
* encouraging the take up of special measures to help support vulnerable and intimidated witnesses give effective evidence in court; and
* additional help for probation staff to improve the management of hate crime offenders.
Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said: "Hate crime ruins people’s lives and the government is determined to tackle it in all its forms. People should be free to express their identities without fear of harassment and crime simply because of who they are.
"The Hate Crime Action Plan will help ensure our response to these intolerable crimes is as effective as possible and create an environment that will give victims more confidence to report these crimes, knowing they will be taken seriously and acted on."
Drew Harris, Assistant Chief Constable of PSNI and ACPO lead on hate crime, said: "Hate crime is unacceptable in any civilised society and the police are committed to reduce the harm it causes, to victims, their families and to the broader community.
"We know that many hate crimes still go unreported and it is essential that victims have both the confidence and the opportunity to report such crimes, either directly to the police or through a third party. A full understanding of the nature and extent of the problem will allow us and our partners to help protect people from the harm caused by hate crime.
"We have been involved in the creation of this cross-governmental plan because we realise that the police service cannot succeed in isolation. There is a need for local and national agencies to cooperate in order to reduce the harm hate crime causes to victims and communities. This action plan will help focus the attention of all agencies on the response to hate crime but, vitally it will also oversee work to minimise the bigotry that fuels such crimes. It is far better that we prevent hate crimes from occurring but when they do we must be ready to respond effectively."
