§ Ms KellyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported racial incidents there were by region in each year since 1995; and how many led to a conviction. [91165]
§ Mr. StrawAvailable information about the number of racist incidents recorded by each police force since 1995 is set out in the table. These are based on 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.Last year, a breakdown of the number of racist incidents recorded by the police in each police area was included for the first time in the Home Office publication "Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System", a copy of which is in the Library. The statistics for 1998–99 will be published in the autumn.
The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry recommended that these incidents are referred to as "racist" incidents and that simpler and clearer definition should be used;
A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person.The new definition was adopted by all police forces on 29 April 1999.
Information on convictions arising from racist incidents is not available.
398W
The number of racist incidents recorded by each force in each year since 1995 Forces 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Avon and Somerset 286 318 310 409 Bedfordshire 41 43 77 75 Cambridgeshire 75 160 141 147 Cheshire 62 27 92 78 City of London 6 2 10 6 Cleveland 62 112 68 76 Cumbria 24 27 37 46 Derbyshire 291 192 208 174 Devon and Cornwall 44 73 82 90 Dorset 37 41 67 86 Durham 26 23 24 37 Dyfed-Powys 3 23 18 17 Essex 127 178 116 160 Gloucestershire 37 34 34 32 Greater Manchester 637 776 595 624 Gwent 22 32 60 45 Hampshire 210 279 178 219 Hertfordshire 183 234 295 288 Humberside 75 58 55 72 Kent 173 129 256 276 Lancashire 222 320 337 311 Leicestershire 366 270 299 237 Lincolnshire 2 0 7 6 Merseyside 131 130 162 241 Metropolitan Police 5,480 5,011 5,621 5,862
The number of racist incidents recorded by each force in each year since 1995 Forces 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Norfolk 39 41 56 89 North Wales 3 5 4 12 North Yorkshire 30 37 43 41 Northampton 146 214 195 318 Northumbria 508 475 488 444 Nottinghamshire 259 362 330 391 South Wales 517 443 357 367 South Yorkshire 156 194 169 213 Staffordshire 164 253 225 214 Suffolk 73 74 74 54 Surrey 39 77 55 45 Sussex 247 263 260 298 Thames Valley 233 266 233 279 Warwickshire 114 99 66 107 West Mercia 35 46 64 57 West Midlands 375 489 725 632 West Yorkshire 254 355 623 644 Wiltshire 64 37 35 59 England and Wales Total 11,878 12,222 13,151 13,878