HC Deb 06 February 1986 vol 91 cc229-31W
Mr. Tony Banks

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of racial harassment have been recorded in each police district in the Metropolitan police area by year since 1983.

Mr. Mellor

The term "racial harassment" has no standard definition and no figures are available for it. I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the information on recorded racial incidents by police district is as given in the following table. The changes may reflect changes in the extent of recording rather than changes in the numbers of incidents occurring.

Racial incidents recorded in the Metropolitan Police District by district
District 1983 1984 1985
A, C and D Westminster 11 16 16
B Kensington 2 8 5
E Camden 38 48 62
F Hanunersmith 13 13 11
G Hackney 31 29 37
H Tower Hamlets 234 414 277
I West Drayton, Staines, Heathrow 4 3 0

Mr. Mellor

Information collected centrally does not distinguish offences relating to dog fights from other offences under the Protection of Animals Act 1911.

District 1983 1984 1985
J Waltham Forest, Redbridge etc. 53 41 135
K Havering, Barking, Newham 132 181 271
L Lambeth 34 33 73
M Southwark 28 29 49
N Islington 31 60 57
P Lewisham, Bromley 32 30 34
Q Brent, Harrow, Bushey 67 121 178
R Greenwich, Bexley 116 102 128
S Barnet etc. 56 45 52
T Richmond, Hounslow, Sunbury 86 72 90
V Kingston, Merton, Esher 62 39 78
W Wandsworth 74 60 67
X Ealing, Hillingdon 74 73 130
Y Haringey, Enfield etc. 39 45 80
Z Croydon, Sutton etc. 59 53 107
Total MPD 1,276 1,515 1,937

Mr. Tony Banks

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide a breakdown of reported racial incidents in the Metropolitan police area for each year since 1983, by type of incident, the number of arrests and the number of subsequent convictions.

Mr. Mellor

I understand from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the available information is as given in the following table. Information on convictions following racial incidents is not available.

Racial incidents recorded in the Metropolitan police district by type of incident
Number of incidents
1984 1985
Type Total Resulting in one or more arrests Total Resulting in one or more arrests
Serious assault 322 91 349 127
Minor assault 189 22 241 24
Criminal damage 599 43 606 61
Leafletting 20 0 20 0
Abusive threatening or insulting behaviour 233 29 518 59
Slogan writing 70 1 98 6
Racial discrimination 15 1 20 1
Disputes 22 3 24 1
Other 45 7 61 7
Total 1,515 197 1,937 286