Dawn raids target homophobia

By Marc Shoffman • November 30, 2006 - 0:00

For 2005/06 there were 11,322 race hate crimes, and 1294 homophobic crimes, according to Scotland Yard figures

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Five hundred police officers raided addresses and arrested perpetrators of domestic, race hate and homophobic crimes across the capital this morning.

The dawn raids are one part of a two-week initiative to put the fear back onto the offenders, and encourage victims to report crimes.

The number of domestic violence incidents reported to police in 2005/06 was over 108,000, with 24% of incidents accounting for all reported violence and 20% of all murders.

For 2005/06 there were 11,322 race hate crimes, and 1294 homophobic crimes, according to Scotland Yard figures.

Commander Steve Allen, head of the Violent Crime Directorate at the Metropolitan Police Service, said: "The MPS take all allegations of these type of crimes very seriously, and have in place strident steps to tackle it. Each borough has a Community Safety Unit consisting of specially trained officers who investigate the crimes and provide support to the victims.

'The activity today is only a small part of the ongoing work of the teams on a daily basis.

"In the run up to the festive season where historically we have seen a rise in such cases, we need to get the message across that this type of crime will not be tolerated and you do not need to suffer in silence.

"These crimes may be affecting someone in your family, or one of your friends, and we want to encourage victims to come forward and know that we will deal with the perpetrators."

The thirty-two dedicated Community Safety Teams will also be engaging with the community in raising awareness of how and where to report crimes, including third party reporting sites, providing high visibility patrolling, and responding to calls in domestic violence cars.

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