§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he will list those police services in Scotland which monitor and record incidents of homophobic crime; [39209]
(2) if he will list, by police authority, the number of homophobic incidents recorded in each of the last five years; [39210]
(3) what estimate he has made of the under-reporting of homophobic crime; [39211]
(4) if he will list by police authority and by category of offence, the type of offences reported or recorded as homophobic crime. [39214]
§ Mr. McLeishPolice Forces in Scotland do not record incidents of homophobic crime and from the information collected centrally from police forces, it is not possible to determine offences or incidents of homophobic crime. Consequently, I am not able to make any estimate of under-reporting.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proposals he has to increase the confidence of homosexual people in reporting crimes against them to the police. [39212]
§ Mr. McLeishThe police are aware of developing trends in crime and can gear their response accordingly. For example, Lothian & Borders Police, in recognition of attacks against homosexuals, have for some time now had an officer with particular responsibility for liaising with gay and lesbian groups. This approach has encouraged the gay community to come forward with information about assaults which were not hitherto being reported to the police and has allowed the police to respond appropriately. Other Forces are following suit in the light of the scale of the problem in their respective Force areas. We will keep the matter under review in consultation with the Police.
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