§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many racist incidents were reported to the police in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years. [138400]
§ Ms BlearsSection 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 requires the Secretary of State to publish such information as he considers expedient in order to enable those involved in the criminal justice system to become aware of the financial implications of their decisions, or to avoid discrimination on grounds of race, sex or any other improper grounds.
The number of racist incidents both 'reported' to and 'recorded' by the police in England and Wales since 1991 and published under section 95, can be seen in the following table.
Total 1991 7,882 1992 7,734 1993–94 11,006 1994–95 11,878 1995–96 12,222 1996–97 13,151 1997–98 23,049 1998–99 23,049 1999–2000 47,814 2000–01 53,092 2001–02 54,351 We believe that the sharp rise in incidents recorded by the police reflects better recording and greater confidence of communities in reporting incidents.