HC Deb 16 January 1998 vol 304 cc326-7W
Sir Brian Mawhinney

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many racial attacks were recorded in each of the past 10 years where the attacker was a white person. [22206]

(2) how many racial attacks were recorded in each of the past 10 years where the victim was a white person. [22207]

Mr. Michael

[holding answers 12 January 1998]: The number of racial incidents recorded by the police is submitted by each police force to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary at the end of each financial year. The figures show racial incidents recorded by the police under the Association of Chief Police Officers' definition of a racial incident: any incident in which it appears to the reporting or investigating officer that the complaint involves an element of racial motivation, or any incident which includes an allegation of racial motivation made by any person". This definition covers all racial incidents, not only racial attacks.

These figures do not include a breakdown, by ethnicity, of either the victim or the offender in a racial incident. However, data on the ethnic classification of victims and offenders involved in racial incidents were collected by the Home Office's Police Research Group for the financial year 1996–97 in connection with a research project on policing racial incidents which was published in November 1997. These data are incomplete because data were not available from all police forces, but the available figures are set out in the table.

Ethnic breakdown of victims/offenders involved in racial incidents recorded by the police in 1997–971
Number
Victims2
White 2,044
Non-white 7,185
Not recorded 262
Total 9,491
Offenders3
White 6,180
Non-white 2,613
Not recorded 781
Total 9,574

Notes:

1 In 4 forces the data relate to the calendar year 1996; in 1 force data relate to a 4 month period from 1 January 1997 to 1 May 1997 and in another data relate to a 6 month period 1 October 1996 to 31 March 1997.

2Data available for 36 out of 43 forces in England and Wales.

3Data available for 32 out of 43 forces in England and Wales. For the Metropolitan Police Service the data available relates to suspects rather than offenders.