Conclusions and recommendations
1. We
have no illusions that hate crime will be dispelled overnight.
However, if Northern Ireland is to establish a fully normal society
these despicable and brutal attacks must cease. It is up to the
Government, the churches, the institutions of civil society, and
every single individual in their daily lives, to take collective
responsibility for ensuring that these appalling activities are
eradicated by all means possible. (Paragraph 6)
2. We are pleased
to note a clear intention on the part of the PSNI and the Northern
Ireland Policing Board to take account of increasing racial and
homophobic attacks. We welcome the continuing targets contained
in the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Police Service
of Northern Ireland Policing Plan 2005-2008 to monitor the number
of racist and homophobic crimes and incidents. (Paragraph 11)
3. Nothing could illustrate
the dysfunction of Northern Ireland society better than the absence,
until recently, of an agreed, official definition of sectarian
hate crime. The process of social normalisation, marked by the
Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in 1998, has enabled society to
begin slowly to get to grips with a number of problems which were
set aside over the past decades by the overwhelming concentration
on the armed conflict. In many respects Northern Ireland's institutions
are now having to relearn their basic functions as society returns,
slowly and painfully, to normal. It is good news that, at long
last, the PSNI has established a definition for sectarian hate
crime as an essential basis for the proactive policing of these
unacceptable activities.
(Paragraph 14)
4. It is high time
that the police and criminal justice system in Northern Ireland
took with the utmost seriousness crimes against the most vulnerable
in our society. Many attacks on people with disabilities appear
to be rooted in the perception of the attacker that the victim's
disability indicates some essential difference which provides
a licence to discriminate. This is an utterly false perception
which must be challenged head-on. We are pleased that the Government
has accepted our advice to take legislative steps to label such
actions for what they are, hate crimes, and to make available
to the courts appropriate sentencing powers. (Paragraph 19)
5. The fundamental
responsibility for creating a decent society rests not only with
the Government and the courts but also, and crucially, with individuals
in their day to day lives. We hope that the normalisation of society
in Northern Ireland which is taking place gradually will manifest
itself at individual level in the reduction and disappearance
of actions by misguided individuals which make the already challenging
lives of those with disabilities infinitely more trying and stressful.
(Paragraph 20)
6. There appears to
be general agreement that hate crime in Northern Ireland is on
the increase, and is subject to significant under-reporting. (Paragraph
22)
7. The Government
consider that "enforcement action by the Police Service of
Northern Ireland will continue to be the key to tackling hate
crime". We agree that, while by no means
the sole response called for, police activity will be a crucial
factor in bearing down on hate crime offences. It is essential
that the PSNI gives this form of crime a high priority and its
success will be judged ultimately by the number of successful
prosecutions. (Paragraph 23)
8. The figures supplied
by the PSNI indicate a disturbingly low clearance rate for racial
and homophobic incidents relative to other similar crimes. In
both categories, less than 7% of incidents recorded as crimes
by the police resulted in a charge or summons, including complainants
who declined to prosecute. It is good that the PSNI and the Policing
Board have set targets in the recent policing plan (2005-2008)
to increase the clearance rate for racist and homophobic crimes
and to establish a baseline clearance rate for crimes motivated
by sectarianism and crimes against persons with a disability.
However, putting these measures in place is only a start, and
the PSNI must now do everything possible to demonstrate a commitment
to improve the clearance rate for homophobic and racist crimes.
The Policing Board must monitor the PSNI's performance closely.
(Paragraph 30)
9. We are greatly
concerned about the very low level of confidence which members
of the LGBT and most minority ethnic communities have in the PSNI.
While we recognise the steps taken by the police to develop more
effective relationships with them, both communities expressed
deep concerns about the extent to which the PSNI are taking hate
crime attacks seriously. Much more needs to be done by the PSNI
to increase the confidence of the communities and to build more
effective relationships with them. This will require great patience
and commitment, and progress is likely to be gradual, but we expect
the PSNI to take the lead decisively to effect discernable, positive
changes. The Government must ensure that adequate resources are
made available to the PSNI for this purpose. (Paragraph 38)
10. We welcome the
steps taken by the PSNI to improve its training strategy to take
account of the growing problem of hate crime in Northern Ireland.
However, in order to ensure it has a fully responsive strategy,
the PSNI must take advice from key representative organisations
which provide support to the victims of hate crime. The police
need to ensure that their existing training programmes are implemented
throughout the organisation, and that representatives of the minority
ethnic and LGBT populations are actively involved in providing
that training. It must ensure that the revised hate crime policy
is comprehensive and takes into account the increase in the scale
and diversity of the minority ethnic and the LGBT population across
all parts of Northern Ireland. (Paragraph 42)
11. As we have said,
the responsibility for combating these crimes is the equal responsibility
of each police officer in Northern Ireland. It is vital that the
policing of minorities is not itself 'ghettoised' by being seen
within the police service as the exclusive preserve of Minority
Liaison Officers. Rather, the MLOs must be trained as the leaders
of police locally in combating these crimes. (Paragraph 43)
12. It is crucial
that the PSNI is more representative of all communities in Northern
Ireland. We believe that this will help increase the confidence
which the communities have in the PSNI and will increase the effectiveness
of the PSNI in dealing with hate crime. We recommend that the
PSNI and the Northern Ireland Policing Board take the necessary
steps to secure higher levels of recruitment from the minority
ethnic communities to the PSNI as a matter of priority. (Paragraph
46)
13. We welcome the
steps taken to establish support associations within the PSNI
for ethnic minority officers and members of the LGBT community,
and expect the PSNI to demonstrate full support for them. (Paragraph
47)
14. It is deeply
worrying that many minority communities do not have full confidence
in the police, particularly against the background of increased
incidence of hate crime. This situation must be changed rapidly.
Better reporting systems, the police hate crime policy, and the
introduction of performance targets in the Policing Plan, offer
a good opportunity to measure the extent of hate crime and to
monitor the performance of the police, but these measures are
only a beginning. The PSNI must set itself to work closely with
other statutory agencies and victim support groups to improve
general confidence in the reporting system, address reasons for
under-reporting and unwillingness to prosecute, to demonstrate
the commitment of every police officer to protect vulnerable groups.
(Paragraph 48)
15. We welcome acceptance
by the Policing Board that hate crime is a growing problem. We
expect the Board's hate crime research projects on policing and
the minority ethnic and LGBT population to make recommendations
to the Chief Constable that will improve the reporting of all
types of hate crime and increase the confidence which minority
communities have in the policing authorities overall. (Paragraph
51)
16. While we were
disappointed by the initial lack of response by some criminal
justice agencies in Northern Ireland to our inquiry, our probing
has demonstrated that the agencies appear to be aware of the problem
and are taking some action to make their staff aware of it and
to provide training. These are initial steps only and the agencies
need to sustain a robust and coordinated approach in order to
keep awareness of their staff high. We recommend that the NIO
takes the lead in ensuring that all the training provided is founded
on common principles; that there is collaboration between the
agencies in delivering training; and, in particular, that this
is developed in conjunction with the representative bodies of
the minority communities.
(Paragraph 55)
17. Using 'restorative
justice' as a means of dealing with the perpetrators of hate crime
offers a number of potential benefits. We were told that it helps
to educate perpetrators, repair relationships with victims, and
offers a more constructive approach to dealing with hate crime.
The PSNI employ 'restorative cautioning' for youth offending,
and we recommend that the PSNI and other criminal justice agencies
explore the full potential for developing a programme of 'restorative
cautioning' for use in dealing with the perpetrators of hate crimes.
(Paragraph 57)
18. Minority groups,
and particularly victims, must play their part: they must be encouraged
to come forward and report crimes against them. We appreciate
fully how difficult it can be report such attacks. Victims may
be fearful of the authorities and 'authority' in general, as a
result of experiences in their country of origin. They may not
speak English (and we heard from victims in this category), or
may have language skills they feel are inadequate. They may consider
that, on the basis of past experience, no action will be taken
however much they press for attention. They may be fearful that
they do not have the sympathy of neighbours. They may be in the
UK without official permission. (Paragraph 58)
19. It remains the
case, however, that without victims' reports, the police and the
authorities can do little or nothing. Worse still, the impression
may persist that there is simply no problem to address, or the
problem is a minor one. This plays into the hands of the perpetrators,
encourages them in the belief that they can commit these crimes
with impunity, and stokes the flames of prejudice and intra-community
frustration. We expect the minority communities to record and
report attacks on them and their members and instances of abuse
as a matter of priority. We had evidence that some groups were
taking action on reporting, and this is heartening. All groups
must follow this lead. They must use the law proactively, and
take every opportunity to hold the police and authorities generally,
and their own elected representatives, to account in investigating
incidents, tracking down the perpetrators, and obliterating this
crime from Northern Ireland society. (Paragraph 59)
20. Responsibility
in Government for tackling hate crime currently straddles the
NIO and the OFMDFM. It is of vital importance that this split
between departments does not impair the Government's ability to
respond to the challenges presented by hate crime in a unified
and focussed way. The involvement of many voluntary groups such
as the Northern Ireland Victim Support, an organisation which
receives core funding from the NIO to deliver services to victims
of crime, adds to the complexity of the position, and increases
the potential for a disjointed policy response. We look to the
Government to demonstrate that these dangers are being avoided,
and that the administration is working as one in tackling this
problem. (Paragraph 64)
21. We are concerned
by the failure of OFMDFM to produce strategies which have a direct
bearing on hate crime to agreed timetables. While the recent publication
in March 2005 of A Shared Future, which sets out the Government's
policy and strategic framework for good relations is a first step,
there remain other important policy and strategy documents which
appear stuck in the pipe-line; for example, the racial equality
strategy for Northern Ireland. We have no reason to suppose that
this relative failure indicates a lack of determination by the
Minister and officials to address head-on the increasing problem
of hate crime in Northern Ireland, but these Government strategies
are required as a matter of urgency, and some are badly overdue.
All outstanding strategies must be published without delay: it
is important to the credibility of the Government that, when a
deadline is set by it for the publication of such documents, that
deadline should be adhered to.
(Paragraph 76)
22. We recommend that,
once in place, the strategies are assessed objectively, and the
results published regularly. This will promote transparency, ensure
accountability, and inspire confidence in the groups most vulnerable
to hate crime. (Paragraph 77)
23. There must be
no doubt about what we have found: the absence of a strongly promoted,
'vision' for community relations in Northern Ireland; an unacceptable
slowness in policy development; and little evidence that policies
are delivering real, 'on the ground', improvements to the lives
of vulnerable individuals, all of which is resulting in dissatisfaction
amongst these groups and a deteriorating pattern of inter-community
relations. We are concerned that, despite officials' reassuring
words, present arrangements between OFMDFM and the NIO may be
insufficiently coordinated to act speedily in producing effective
strategies to combat hate crime. The Government must consider
what improvements are required to correct this unsatisfactory
state of affairs. (Paragraph 78)
24. Education is a
most important area for action in the field of community relations
generally and, in particular, a means of combating the underlying
causes of hate crime. In its day to day activity, the Department
of Education needs to keep firmly in mind the vision set out in
the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement that 'An essential aspect
of the reconciliation process is the promotion of a culture of
tolerance at every level of society, including initiatives to
facilitate and encourage integrated education'. (Paragraph 85)
25. We are pleased
to see important initiatives like the Local and Global Citizenship
which offers a real opportunity to embed tolerance and understanding
in the teaching and learning of young people. But we are under
no illusions that initiating such projects equates to a successful
outcome. The Department must ensure that this good start is followed
through vigorously, and that the project is monitored regularly
to assess its contribution to the attitudes and behaviour of young
people to hate crime. (Paragraph 86)
26. The issue of integrated
education, which should be in the front rank for Departmental
activity, appears to be given less priority than it merits. We
were struck by the evidence that, while sixty per cent of people
in Northern Ireland would prefer to send their children to a mixed
religion school, only five per cent can do so
currently. There may be many people who would
not wish to send their children to an integrated school. We respect
their right not to do so. However, the evidence is that very many
more wish to than there are currently places in school to accommodate
them. There is also evidence that integrated education can help
to heal sectarian wounds. We expect the Government to look with
renewed urgency at this issue, in particular, at how those who
wish take up integrated education for their sons and daughters
may do so without undue delay. (Paragraph 87)
27. Underpinning all
formal education is the crucial role of parents in demonstrating
to their children the great social advantages of tolerance and
respect for those with different backgrounds and cultures. Parents
should be made aware of research by the education authorities
which suggests that attitudes may be formed at a particularly
early age, and we look to the Department of Education to take
the lead in making this information widely available. (Paragraph
88)
28. We welcome the
evidence provided by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive of
a desire on the part of many people to live in non segregated
communities and trust that the Executive will do everything possible
to encourage this development while respecting reasonable personal
choice. We are impressed by the way in which the Housing Executive
and the Department for Social Development is adapting its long
experience of dealing with sectarian hate crime in housing to
other forms of hate crime. We commend this work, and would like
to see these measures accelerated and extended, particularly their
pilot projects for integrated estates. (Paragraph 93)
29. In Scotland, the
Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service have produced an
analysis of charges brought in the first six months under Section
74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. We believe that
a similar system of monitoring the use of the Criminal Justice
(No. 2) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 would be beneficial. (Paragraph
100)
30. We welcome the
introduction of the Criminal Justice (No. 2) (Northern Ireland)
Order 2004 and the inclusion of crimes against the disabled as
a category of hate crime. We recommend that the PSNI, the Policing
Board and the NIO closely monitor the effectiveness of this new
legislation. Importantly, prosecutions need to attract widespread
media attention to act as a deterrent to others that hate crime
will be robustly tackled by the criminal justice system. (Paragraph
101)
31. But much more
than "messages" are required. The law will be another
'dead letter' unless the enforcement authorities, primarily the
PSNI, use it vigorously. We expect them to do so. As we have pointed
out earlier, the authorities have considerable ground to make
up in persuading vulnerable groups that their concerns are being
addressed seriously. This legislation is an opportunity to demonstrate
that such legitimate concerns will be addressed. Those involved
in the criminal justice system must not fail this test. When our
successor committee looks next at this subject we hope that there
will be a sound record of action
as a result of this Order. (Paragraph 102)
32. We thoroughly
endorse the Government's emphasis on the important role which
local authorities have in the promotion of community harmony and
driving out hate crime. Without the collaboration of local authorities
it is difficult to see how any measures promoted by the central
Government can succeed. (Paragraph 104)
33. The Committee
welcomes the work of local authorities to promote the quality
of community life through community relations programmes directed
against sectarianism. Many of these programmes are small scale
but have a disproportionately large and positive impact. We commend
those local authority officers who are responsible for putting
them into practice and call on their councils to do all in their
power to support and further their efforts. It is vital that these
programmes continue, and that funding for them is secure. We look
to the Government to ensure that this is the case. (Paragraph
108)
34. If the Government's
determination to root out hate crime is to succeed, then action
by the minority support organisations is essential. We heard welcome
evidence that some are willing to encourage members to report
attacks and other incidents, and we hope that this approach will
develop. That support will be inadequate unless proper funding
is made available. We therefore welcome the Government's decision
to make additional funding available to minority support organisations.
We hope this will allow organisations to develop significant programmes
of work over a sustained period of time, and to respond more effectively
to the problem of hate crime. (Paragraph 114)
35. We welcome the
work undertaken by the trade union movement and employers to reduce
sectarianism in the work place. However, the evidence we had of
increasing numbers of incidents of hatred at work makes it imperative
that they continue working jointly with employers and others to
develop sound strategies to address racism, homophobia, and discrimination
against people with disabilities. (Paragraph 118)
36. We urge the Churches
to continue to build on the work they have initiated and to develop
a broadly based good relations programme. The Churches' Peace
Education Project is a cross church education programme involving
young people across Northern Ireland. We were concerned that Government
funding for the project had not been granted for 2004-2007 and,
as a consequence, the project had been scaled back. We hope that
what appears to be a project with great potential can be funded
fully in future, and that other, similar projects can be encouraged.
(Paragraph 122)
37. The Churches have
a great responsibility for assisting in the development of a culture
of tolerance and peace in Northern Ireland. Unless this potential
is used to its utmost the drive for social normalisation in Northern
Ireland is likely to falter, or even fail. We call on churchmen,
and members of Church communities, to ensure that their influence
and efforts are placed firmly behind the Government's hate crime
policy. (Paragraph 123)
38. The evidence we
received indicates that the community and voluntary sector, churches,
trade unions, employers, peace groups and those working with young
people have undertaken positive work and projects to address all
forms of hate crimes. We welcome this and urge them to redouble
their efforts. The Government's work to establish a robust long-term
strategy to tackle the prejudice and fear that lie at the roots
of much hate crime requires the support of these bodies and individuals.
Such a strategy will fail unless all sections of society provide
it with their wholehearted support. (Paragraph 127)
39. Our inquiry has
shown that hate crime is a growing problem in Northern Ireland.
We are convinced that the growth in these appalling crimes can
be arrested if the Government, the PSNI, and other criminal justice
agencies increase their efforts to eradicate it. However, if a
real impact on this problem is to be made the pace of policy and
strategy development on the part of the Government, and enforcement
on the part of the PSNI, will need to speed up. Policies need
to be 'smart': transparent, timely, and capable of having an immediate
impact 'on the ground'. Strategy is not a substitute for rigorous
practical action. Enforcement needs to be carried out with rigour.
(Paragraph 128)
40. More
generally, addressing the problem of hate crime requires the commitment
and dedication of many participants, the Government, the PSNI,
the victims of hate crime, the churches and many more. In addition,
each individual in Northern Ireland has a personal responsibility
to treat everyone with respect and tolerance. This is the general
standard we expect to see underpinning the policy work of the
Government and enforcement by the police to combat hate crime.
We believe that, with the full commitment of everyone, real progress
can be made in eradicating these despicable crimes from society
in Northern Ireland. We expect immediate action to be taken by
the Government and the PSNI to provide the required leadership
and vision to halt the growth of hate crime and further a peaceful
society for the minority communities of Northern Ireland.
(Paragraph 129)
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