HC Deb 06 March 1986 vol 93 cc234-5W
Mr. Tony Banks

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide figures detailing incidents of racial harassment in the Metropolitan police district, by borough, for each year since 1983.

Mr. Mellor

As stated in the reply to the hon. Member on 6 February at columns 229–30, 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 available information on recorded racial incidents by borough is as given in the following table. The changes may reflect changes in the extent of recording rather than changes in the number of incidents occurring.

Racial incidents recorded in the Metropolitan police district by borough
Number
Borough 1983 1984 1985
Barking and Dagenham 28 19 28
Barnet, including that part of Hertsmere within the MPD 56 45 52
Bexley 30 18 41
Brent 53 70 120
Bromley 30 13 18
Camden 38 48 62
Croydon 51 40 71
Ealing 72 62 67
Enfield, including those parts of Welwyn, Hatfield and Broxbourne within the MPD 30 34 48
Greenwich 86 84 87
Hackney 31 29 37
Hammersmith/Fulham 13 13 11
Haringey 9 11 34
Harrow 14 51 58
Havering 5 22 18
Hillingdon (except parts in London airport) 2 11 63
Hounslow 56 62 79
Islington 31 60 57
Kensington and Chelsea 2 8 5
Kingston, including those parts of Elmbridge within the MPD 34 19 22
Lambeth 34 33 73
Lewisham 2 17 16
London Airport (parts of Spelthorne and Hillington) 4 3 0
Merton 28 20 56
Newham 99 140 229
Redbridge, including part of Epping Forest 24 21 71
Richmond, including those parts of Spelthorne within the MPD but not in London Airport 30 10 11
Southwark 28 29 49
Sutton, including those parts of Epsom and Ewell and Reigate and Banstead within the MPD 8 13 36
Tower Hamlets 234 414 277
Waltham Forest, including part of Epping Forest 29 20 66
Wandsworth 74 60 67
Westminster 11 16 16
Total MPD 1,276 1,515 *1,945

*Provisional; the total for 1985 is revised from the figure given in the Official Report, Vol 91, columns 229–30, following receipt of late reports of a few incidents.