In the Media

Race crime figures 'inaccurate'

PUBLISHED July 11, 2006
SHARE

Police forces have been sending inaccurate figures about race crime in England and Wales to the Government.

The statistics about racist incidents were published in March, but the Home Office issued revised figures after complaints about their accuracy.

The new figures published yesterday revealed a number of inaccuracies. In the new figures, Bedfordshire Police increased the number of racist incidents in 2003-04 from 279 to 410, Cheshire Constabulary from 289 to 416, Greater Manchester Police from 2,824 to 3,213 and Staffordshire Police from 595 to 948.

The revised figures from the 43 forces in England and Wales indicated that there was a 7 per cent increase in recorded racist incidents between 2003-04 and 2004-05, compared with 12 per cent indicated by the statistics published in March.

The Home Office apologised for the inaccuracies. A spokeswoman said that the new figures had been verified by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the individual forces. A review of the way the statistics are compiled was being carried out, she said.
 
 

CATEGORIES