§ Lord Tebbitasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many attacks by white people on members of ethnic minority groups in the Metropolitan Police area were classified as racial crimes during the last year for which figures are available; and [HL2736]
How many attacks by members of ethnic minority groups upon white people in the Metropolitan Police area were classified as racial crimes during the last year for which figures are available. [HL2737]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Bassam of Brighton)Information is available on racially aggravated offences which were introduced under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. The latest available information relates to the period 1 April 1999 to 30 September 1999. It indicates that 7,473 such offences were recorded in the Metropolitan Police area. No information is collected on the ethnicity of the victims.
Additional information is available on the total number of racist incidents recorded by the police. A racist incident is wider in definition than a crime so it would be misleading to compare these figures with the racially aggravated offences. The latest information on racist incidents relates to the financial year 1998–99 and was published in December 1999 in Statistics on Race and the Criminal Justice System; a copy has been placed in the Library. It shows that 11,050 racist incidents were recorded in the Metropolitan Police area during the period 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999. No information is collected on the ethnicity of the victims or the alleged offenders.
The Home Office is currently discussing with the Association of Chief Police Officers the feasibility of collecting information (including ethnicity) on victims.