Senior CPS London lawyer calls for formation of a Hindu security forum

One of the criminal justice system's most prominent minority ethnic members has supported calls for the establishment of a Hindu security forum.

Raj Joshi, Director of Legal Practice and Quality Assurance for CPS London, said such a body would help combat the rise in hate crime.

The barrister, who was a victim of schoolboy racists while growing up in this country, said there was a need for more communities to play a part in the criminal justice service.

He told a Hindu security conference that a starting point for discussion on expectations from the criminal justice service was the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report.

"There must be an unequivocal acceptance of the problem of institutional racism and its nature before it can be addressed as it needs to be, in full partnership with members of minority ethnic communities," said Raj, left.

All available statistics still referred to the term 'Asian' or 'black', adding: "In an age of diversity that stereotyping really has to stop."

In England and Wales adults from mixed-race or Asian backgrounds were more likely than those from other ethnic groups to be crime victims, he said.

According to figures for 2002-03 three per cent of Asians had experienced a crime they thought was racially motivated in the previous 12 months, against less than one per cent of white people.

The Asian community, which makes up just two per cent of the UK population, accounted for nine per cent of the prison population.

"In other words, is it any wonder that people feel concerned about reporting crime when it is perceived that they are more likely to end up as defendants rather than victims?" said Raj.

Outlining the steps the CPS is taking to tackle hate crimes - racist and religiously aggravated crime, homophobic crime and domestic violence - he said it was one of the top 15 indicators against which the performance of the CPS is measured.

Racist crime will be recorded separately from religious crime.

The CPS will also record the aggravated element of hate crimes and monitor the sentencing of this element - an uplift of the sentence because, for example, of a racist or religious aspect.

Raj said Hindus and Indians had made immense contributions to the world.

The inventor of the Pentium chip and the founder and creator of Hotmail were Indian, for example.

Historically, Indians invented the number system and the decimal system. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computers, he pointed out.

Organised by the Hindu Forum of Britain in partnership with the National Hindu Students Forum and the Metropolitan Police, the conference was held at the London School of Economics in February.

Other speakers included Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.