Analysis: Race crime charges

Rory Maclean
BBC home affairs correspondent

According to the British Crime Survey, racist incidents are declining

The fact that the number of offences involving racial aggravation in England and Wales rose by 28 percent between 2005 and 2006 might lead to the conclusion that this sort of crime was becoming more common.

The Crown Prosecution Service did not prosecute in every case where someone was charged by the police but did take action against more than 6,000 people.

However these figures do not mean that racially aggravated offences, ranging from serious assault to harassment, are increasing.

In fact, the British Crime Survey, which tries to give a more accurate view of crime trends by interviewing thousands of people, actually shows racist incidents declining.

In 2003-4 there were 206,000 incidents which fell to 179,000 incidents in 2004-5.

'Complex issues'

Senior police officers and the Crown Prosecution Service say the increase in these latest figures is because of more accurate recording and greater sensitivity towards victims, which has led to an increase in the use of the laws which make offences liable to heavier penalties if a racially aggravated element is proved to be involved.

A direct parallel is drawn with the way that attitudes changed towards victims of sexual assaults which has also led to an increase in the number of prosecutions.

Chief Constable Peter Fahy, the spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers on race and diversity, said that this type of crime affected many elements in society.

He said that racial crime was not just about attacks by white people on black people but the true picture reflected rather more complex issues involving inter-ethnic tensions.

In fact, on the basis of the British Crime Survey, it would appear that more white people are the subject of racial incidents than those from black or minority ethnic backgrounds.

However that is partly because of the way "white" is defined for the purposes of the British Crime Survey, and the reality is that someone is more likely to be a victim of a racially aggravated crime if they are from the ethnic minorities.

Religiously aggravated crime is also reflected in today's figures. 51 offences were prosecuted.

The Director of the Crown Prosecution Service, Ken MacDonald, said that although there had been an increase, the fears of a large rise in offences directed against Muslims in the wake of the bombings of the 7 July, had proved to be "unfounded".