Victims

Racially motivated incidents appear to be a significant and widespread problem:

• The British Crime Survey (2000) http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/bcs1.html found that the number of racially motivated incidents committed against ethnic minorities fell from 143,000 in 1995 to 98,000 in 1999 (down 32%). This represents 12% of the incidents committed against ethnic minorities as against 1% of those against white people.

• A study of victims showed that all participants had experienced verbal abuse, 70% had suffered intimidation and 47% physical attack. Some participants also felt that break-ins they had experienced were racially motivated. Other types of harassment reported included:

• litter, eggs, rubbish and even stones thrown at the victim's home

• knocking or kicking front doors

• racist graffiti

• bullying and threatening of children

• racist telephone calls

• damage to property (home / car / garden), e.g. broken

• windows

• animal faeces smeared on the door.

Chahal, K. & Julienne, L. (1999) We Can’t All be White! Racist Victimisation in the UK. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The graph below shows the extent of these offences.

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(Sourcing required)

• It is estimated that 13% of people from an ethnic minority had been subjected to some form of racial harassment in the last 12 months, (as shown in figure below) ;and

• Three-fifths of the people who had been subjected to racial harassment said that they had been victimised more than once in the past year. Nearly a quarter were victimised five or more times in the past year.

The graph below shows  Which Ethnic Groups are Most Affected by Racially Motivated Crime

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