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Racism has no place here
Campaigners today pledged to continue the fight against racism after new figures showed more than 300 hate crimes were committed across Wearside and East Durham in the past year.
Northumbria Police recorded 192 incidents of assault, criminal damage and harassment against ethnic minorities, with Asians 10 times more likely to be targeted than any other group.
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Police in East Durham investigated 109 incidents of racially or religiously-aggravated attacks. Those targeted included Irish, Chinese and Bangladeshi.
Today, campaigner Tahir Khan, the founder of the Sunderland-based Unity Organisation against racism, said the statistics reflected the "unpleasant side" of modern society.
However, he maintained that important strides had been made to increase racial and religious tolerance.
"The figures are very worrying indeed and they show the problems many people face all the time in their everyday lives," he said.
"There is no doubt that in many respects the situation has improved over the years, but there are still people suffering and there is still a lot more than needs to be done to build a more tolerant society."
Ged Grebby, project co-ordinator with the North East-based Show Racism the Red Card campaign, which uses football to get its message across, said: "It's always difficult to quantify how successful campaigns such as ours have been, but I'd say we have made a difference and our message is gradually being hammered through.
"We are proof that through education, school visits and the high-profile of football you can change people's attitudes towards racism and improve the situation."
The figures from the police show an overall decline in the number of race-hate crimes, with the Sunderland Command Area recording 263 incidents in 2006.
In East Durham, which includes Easington, Seaham and Peterlee, there were 143 reported incidents in the same year.
Police say the figures are partly the result of campaigns to encourage victims to come forward and report hate crimes.
Last year saw the launch of Sunderland Arch, designed to support victims of racist attacks and tackle the causes of racist crime.
Victims and witnesses of racist crime can report an incident 24 hours a day by calling a freephone number or visiting one of the organisations who are partners in the scheme.
Inspector Lisa Musgrove, of Northumbria Police, said: "Racially-motivated crime will not be tolerated and we will always act swiftly to bring the perpetrators of such crimes to justice and to provide the appropriate support to victims."
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Weather for Sunderland
Thursday 09 February 2012
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