Kendal Conference Raises Awareness Of Racist And Religious Hate Crime In Cumbria
26/02/2013
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) teamed up with Cumbria Police and AWAZ Cumbria to host a Racist and Religious Hate Crime community event in Kendal today.
The conference, at the Castle Green Hotel, aimed to raise awareness of racist and religious hate crime in Cumbria and give people a better understanding of what racist and religious hate crimes are. In the last year, there were 97 racist and religious hate crime prosecutions in Cumbria and 87% of these were successfully prosecuted. However, discussions with community groups have shown that a large number of incidents go unreported.
The event explored how the CPS and police deal with these sorts of crimes and the consequences for those who commit hate crimes. It also looked at the devastating impact that hate crimes have on victims, as well as highlighted the special measures and support available.
Nazir Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: "I am delighted that the CPS is working in partnership with Cumbria Police and AWAZ Cumbria to raise awareness about racist and religious hate crime in the county. The CPS takes racist and religious hate crime extremely seriously and we are determined to bring those who commit these crimes to justice.
"The eleven people who were jailed for a racist attack on workers in a Turkish cafe in Carlisle last year is testament to our commitment towards tackling racist and religious hate crime. As the figures show, we have brought about a high number of successful convictions in Cumbria in the last year. However, we can only prosecute cases if they have been reported to the police so it is imperative that incidents do not go unreported.
"The effects of hate crime are far reaching and they can cause long lasting harm. They are not only extremely distressing for the victim, but for families and communities as well. I would urge anyone who has been a victim of racist or religious hate crime to come forward and report it to the police. We must not let people get away with committing hate crimes in Cumbria.
"The conference is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness about the issue and the work we are doing to tackle racist and religious hate crimes."
Cumbria Constabulary's Temporary Chief Constable Bernard Lawson said: "Everybody has the right to live without fear of violence, intimidation or intolerance. Targeting someone because of their race or religion is senseless, distressing and simply unacceptable. If someone is suffering at the hands of another, then they should be supported and the offender should be punished.
"We are committed to tackling this sort of crime and this event aims to raise awareness of hate crime and increase understanding of the support that victims in Cumbria can receive from police, the Crown Prosecution Service and partner agencies.
"Police will take every report of hate crime seriously but we need victims to have the confidence to report it. If you have been a victim, or if you have witnessed a hate crime, you can contact police officers in a traditional way by visiting a police station or calling 101, or you can visit third party reporting centres that are spread around the county."
Speakers at the event included:
Nazir Afzal, CPS Chief Crown Prosecutor North West Area,
Bernard Lawson, Temporary Chief Constable Cumbria Constabulary,
Raz Nazir, Detective Inspector Cumbria Constabulary,
Peter Foley MBE, Chair of AWAZ Cumbria,
Karen Froggatt, Victim Support, Locality Director for the North.
If victims do not feel comfortable approaching the police, they are encouraged to attend Third Party Reporting Centres across the county which offer a safe, neutral location where victims or witnesses can report an incident without having to speak directly to a police officer. You can find a full list of reporting centres here: http://www.cumbria.police.uk/advice-and-information/reporting-a-crime/hate-crime-and-incidents
For more information about challenging hate crime in Cumbria, visit Cumbria Constabulary's website (www.cumbria.police.uk)
In addition, the CPS has also been working with schools from across the North West to develop an anti hate crime educational DVD and resource pack, aimed at educating young people about hate crime.
The resource can be found at: http://www.cps.gov.uk/northwest/tackling_crime/hate_crime/schools_project_racist_and_religious_hate_crime/
