§ Mr. SarwarTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to improve the relationship between the police and ethnic minority communities. [56715]
§ Mr. McLeish[holding answer 2 November 1998]: I am satisfied that all Scotland's Chief Constables have already developed and are vigorously pursuing progressive race relation policies both within their forces and reaching out to the communities they serve. These 631W policies were developed in collaboration with leaders of ethnic communities. Police officers are required to give full weight to and robustly investigate racial incidents. A new offence of racial harassment and a requirement on courts to take account of any racial element in an offence were introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and demonstrate our commitment to forging greater harmony within our communities.