MORE FOCUS NEEDED ON HATE CRIME ISSUE (N.Ireland)

A review into how the Northern Ireland justice system manages hate crime has found that 12 of 19 improvements recommended in a 2007 inspection have been made.

28/7/2010- Following up on its previous report, the Criminal Justice Inspection welcomed the work that has been done but added that a number of "key recommendations" had not been dealt with. The group noted its concern that a hate crime strategy still has not been developed, and called the length of time taken by the justice system to establish a common definition of what a hate crime is "disappointing". It said that all incidents of hate crime should be prominently marked on prosecution files and made available to the court. The criminal justice system was also urged to implement a process where the use of hate crime legislation is recorded by the PPS and the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service so monitoring can occur. Inspectors put the failure to act on the remaining recommendations down to an "absence of strategic focus".

Deputy Chief Inspector Brendan McGuigan said that while progress has been made in the last three years there are still issues that must be dealt with. "Since the publication of CJI's original inspection of the management of hate crime, three critical incidents have occurred which have projected a negative image of Northern Ireland on a world stage," he said. "The intimidation of Polish and eastern European residents in south Belfast following a international football match, the sectarian murder of a man in Coleraine and the intimidation of Roma families highlight the importance for agencies to work co-operatively to tackle these issues. "It is vital the criminal justice system reacts to such incidents in a pro-active and timely manner."

Some of the recommendations which had been acted upon include a community tension monitoring group within Belfast Community Safety Partnership, and the Unite against Hate campaign which uses sports organisations and local personalities to raise awareness of hate crime. The organisation also praised the PSNI for making the five recommendations it had specific responsibility for. "During this inspection review we found some excellent examples of criminal justice agencies, government departments, public bodies and other groups working together to improve the management of hate crime," Mr McGuigan continued. "It is therefore vital the criminal justice system reacts to all incidents in a pro-active and timely manner."

The report follows the publication by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of a Cohesion, Sharing, and Integration initiative aimed at improving community relations. Justice Minister David Ford, and representatives of the Prosecution Service and the police, pledged to continue their work to combat hate crime. Mr Ford said everyone had the right to live free from fear and prejudice and he commended the work so far done by the criminal justice system and the police to tackle hate crime. But he added: "However, I am disappointed at the lack of progress on a number of recommendations and it is clear that more needs to be done. "The criminal justice system cannot be complacent in its approach to addressing hate crime, and I have instructed my officials to take forward the outstanding recommendations as a matter of urgency." Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Jim Scholes and Assistant Chief Constable Will Kerr welcomed the report.
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