Neeson appalled at racist hate crime figures

Alliance Party Spokesperson, Séan Neeson MLA, has expressed shock at the large number of racist crimes recorded in Northern Ireland He also appealed to people to report all incidents to police so that more resources can be put into fighting hate crimes. It was revealed today that 736 racist hate crimes were reported between 1 January and 14 November 2006.

The East Antrim Assembly Member said: “I am shocked and appalled at these figures. These figures underline the need for more resources to be used in tackling this blight on our society.

“I would strongly encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed a hate crime to contact police. If police have a record of every hate crime then they can allocate more of their resources to fighting this problem.”

ENDS