HC Deb 07 February 1994 vol 237 cc23-4W
Ms Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when data will be available on the number of racial incidents recorded by each police force in England and Wales for 1993.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

In common with other statistics, information on reported racial incidents is now provided by police forces on a financial year basis. Information on the number of racial incidents reported to police forces in England and Wales for the year April 1993 to March 1994 will be available in mid-April.

Ms Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures his Department has adopted to monitor the incidence of racial harassment and racial attacks in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Every police force in England and Wales is required to monitor the occurrence of racially motivated incidents using a standard definition agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers, and taking account of Home Office guidance on ethnic classification issued as Home Office circular 70 of 1992. Data are supplied annually to the Home Office via HM inspectorate of constabulary.

Since April 1993, as part of the national package of core performance indicators for the police, each force will be expected to publish annual data on the total number of reported racial incidents in the force area, and the percentage of these in which further investigative action was taken. This information will be used by HM inspectorate of constabulary to monitor police performance.

In addition, the British crime surveys of 1988 and 1992 asked ethnic minority victims of crime about racial motivation. A paper on ethnic minorities' experience of crime, including the incidence of racial motivation, is due to be published shortly. The inter-departmental racial attacks group will be considering the latest available data on racial incidents as part of its continuing work programme.

Ms Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give the number of homicides in 1992 in which racial motivation was a factor.

Mr. Maclean

The information requested is not available. The police are required to make returns of each known homicide to the Home Office, but are not specifically requested to note whether they consider racial motivation to be a factor.