Racial Attacks (Hansard, 11 March 1994)

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to commission a survey comparable to the British crime survey, to examine the occurrence of racial attacks and racial harassment.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
I have no plans to commission a separate survey. The 1992 British crime survey involved some 10,000. households, and had a boosted sample of about 1,700 ethnic minority respondents. This produced a sufficiently large sample to compare rates and patterns of criminal victimisation between these groups and the white majority.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to introduce new legal measures aimed at combating racial violence, racial discrimination or racial harassment.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
The Government are considering recommendations for legislative change made by the Commission for Racial Equality in its second review of the Race Relations Act 1976; we will be looking carefully at the recommendations of the Home Affairs Committee inquiry into racial attacks and harassment.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to require chief constables to publish annual clear-up rates for racial incidents as compared with other offences in each division.
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§ Mr. Charles Wardle
As part of the package of core performance indicators for the police, introduced in April 1993, each force will 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 undertaken. My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to require the police to publish clear-up rates for racial incidents since in many instances the matters reported may not be ones for the police, but for other agencies, and may not involve criminal offences.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide additional resources to enable the establishment of local multi-agency panels aimed at combating racism.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Many local multi-agency groups are already in existence to combat racial attacks and harassment. The racial attacks group, as part of its work programme, will be seeking to inform itself of the number of multi-agency groups that have been established locally, and to learn from their experience. The allocation of resources to support these groups must be a matter for local agencies in the light of local priorities.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to investigate possible links between the activities of extremist organisations and incidences of racially motivated attacks.

§ Mr. Charles Wardle
The investigation of racially motivated attacks, and of organisations which might pose a threat to public order, is the responsibility of the police. There is no evidence to suggest that the role of extremist groups in racial attacks is anything but a very minor one.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to recommend that in cases where race is an issue, the defence or prosecution be able to propose and the judge be empowered to direct, that the composition of the jury includes some ethnic minority representation.

§ Mr. Maclean
The Royal Commission on Criminal Justice recommended that, where compelling reasons are advanced, it should be possible for the defence or the prosecution to apply to the judge for the selection of a jury containing up to three people from ethnic minorities. This recommendation raises serious questions of both principle and practicality and the Government have yet to reach a conclusion on it.