Time for police to get real and clamp down on hate crime thugs

11.56.33am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 7th Sep 2007

Alliance MLA Séan Neeson

Alliance MLA Séan Neeson has called on the police to crack down harder on thugs committing hate crimes to send out a strong message. He called on them to take a more coherent and joined up approach to tackling such crimes. His comments come following questions being raised about the police's clear-up of hate crime cases.

The East Antrim Assembly Member said: "The police need to send out a hard-hitting message on hate crime. They need to make more of an effort to clear up these crimes and stamp out all forms of prejudice.

"The authorities must develop a more coherent and joined-up approach to recording and tackling these crimes.

"The under-reporting of hate crimes is still a massive problem too. I would strongly encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses a hate crime to report it to the police, to ensure that more resources are allocated to catching perpetrators."

ENDS