Cracking down on haters

Tower Hamlets Partnership is cracking down on people who carry out hate crime, thanks to recent research carried out by Tower Hamlets Race and Hate Inter-agency Forum coordinated by Tower Hamlets Council.

Hate crimes are crimes against people just because of who they are. The perpetrators of hate crime target people based on no other reason other than hate for a specific group or community.

The first part of the Perpetrator Mapping report was launched last week (10 December), by Tower Hamlets Council and the launch coincided with World Human Rights Day. The event brought in over 70 people who have an interest in combating hate.

Groups came together to discuss the initial findings from the report so they can start to develop better ways of working together to reduce hate crime in the borough. They discussed the benefits of using early interventions such as warning letters, anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) and cautions. And the need to develop further the use of Restorative Justice – which is when the offender meets the victim of hate crime in order to get a better understanding how their behaviour has had a negative impact.

Councillor Abdal Ullah, who is the lead member for community safety in Tower Hamlets Council said: “Efforts to tackle hate crime in Tower Hamlets will be greatly improved because of the Hate Crime Perpetrators Research Mapping Project.

“We are one of the better boroughs in terms for dealing with hate crime. We’re relatively confident in the council’s response to victims and awareness raising activities to promote cohesion, but this report has highlighted the need for more joined-up work between the council, police and partner organisations when dealing with those who commit hate crimes.

“The final report will be completed in March 2010. It will help to develop next year’s Hate Crime Strategy and improving the way we work with perpetrators to reduce re-offending and hold more perpetrators accountable.”