Last updated 09:28, Monday, 20 October 2008

COPS and councillors are waging war on racists in Barrow.

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In total there were 156 reports in Barrow, 120 in the South Lakeland area and 184 across Copeland, from 2005 to 2008.

The vast majority of the racially motivated hate incidents were in Barrow’s Hindpool and Central wards, putting them in the county’s top 10 worst hotspots.

Meanwhile, Ulverston councillors were left sickened by racist graffiti daubed across the Sir John Barrow Monument on Tuesday night.

Councillors across the area were shocked by the new figures and have vowed to do all they can to stamp racism out.

The area’s top cop has said such crimes will not be tolerated and they will crack down hard on offenders.

Chief Superintendent Paul Kennedy, South Cumbria Area Commander, urged victims not to suffer in silence but report such abuse, adding that it is important to remember that hate crime is not just about race or religion, but also about crimes targeted against individuals because of their age, disability, sexual orientation or gender.

Central ward councillor Rose Hamezeian said: “I’m quite shocked.There is no excuse for racial abuse. I am totally, totally, opposed to anything to do with racism.

“We must work together to stamp out this nonsense. I shall be contacting the police to find out what is going on.”

Hindpool councillor, and leader of the Labour group, Dave Pidduck said: “Obviously any racially motivated incident is viewed very seriously by councillors. We support any organisation that is against this sort of behaviour.

“I am quite disgusted that Hindpool and Central are now known for this when they should be known for more positive things.

“Obviously I am very concerned that these crimes are taking place and we will work with the police and any other organisations to work at dealing with this issue.”

Ch Supt Kennedy said: “We do not tolerate hate incidents of any form in South Cumbria and act robustly to all reports to identify those responsible and ensure they are brought to justice where a crime is committed.

“Reports of hate incidents are treated just as seriously as hate crime – they are thoroughly investigated with safeguards to ensure the victim receives all the support they need and are overseen by a dedicated hate crime officer.”

He added: “Education and tolerance for others from a young age is as important as enforcement and our officers work closely with local schools to address equality and diversity issues and encourage people to celebrate difference and embed the message of respect.

“We rely on members of the public to report crimes to us and provide information to help us tackle the issue.

“We would urge anyone who believes they may have been a victim of any form of hate crime to report it to us so we can bring offenders to justice and prevent others becoming victims.

“We do not want victims to suffer in silence so to encourage more victims to come forward we have introduced Third Party Reporting Centres across the area, so those who do not wish to speak to police officers direct can report their incident to trained staff in independent centres who then feed this back to our officers to investigate.

“Third party reporting helps us create a clearer picture of the true nature of incidents of hate crime in Cumbria, and helps us develop strategies to deter offenders of hate crime and the potential of people becoming repeat victims.”

Carlisle has been dubbed the “race hate capital of Cumbria”, with a massive 440 such incidents in the city.

The vast majority were racist attacks or abuse, although there was also a significant number of homophobic hate incidents.

Cumbria County Council figures show that five of the 10 wards with the highest number of incidents were in Carlisle. Others included St Michael’s and Netherhall in Allerdale, and Harbour in Copeland.

Any victim of racially-motivated hate crime should call Cumbria police on 0845 3300247, or contact any council for your nearest Third Party Reporting Centre.