Ulster Unionist member on the Policing Board, Ross Hussey MLA, has warned that Northern Ireland must urgently address its spiralling rates of racist attacks.
The West Tyrone MLA said;
“Although it is disappointing that the overall number of crimes recorded by the PSNI increased by 2.3% over the year, it is still noteworthy that it was still the second lowest annual level recorded in Northern Ireland since 1998/1999. Whilst is it unfortunate this is the first time in 4 years that the number of crimes has increased, Northern Ireland continues to remain a very safe place to live.
“The PSNI deserve huge credit and our continuing support for doing what can be a difficult job in very challenging circumstances.
“One issue which causes me particular concern is the fact that as Northern Ireland’s population becomes increasingly mutli-cultural, a minority of people continue to be motivated by bigotry and prejudice. This is deeply disappointing. Recent weeks have seen a number of high profile incidents of racist attacks, however these are likely to represent only a small proportion of the overall picture. The increase of over 30% in racist attacks last year does a huge dishonour to the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland who welcome diversity and are genuinely good neighbours.
“With this increase in hate crime I will be challenging the Justice Minister to ensure that there is an effective criminal justice response in place and that not only are these cowards tracked down, but that they will also be held liable for their actions.”