Force may follow lead on goth ‘hate crimes’

A YORKSHIRE police force could emulate plans to classify attacks on members of subcultures such as goths and punks as hate crimes.

North Yorkshire Police says it is monitoring “with interest” the scheme run in Greater Manchester, the first area to treat the offences in such a way.

Previously hate crimes were only registered for offences against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

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Assistant Chief Constable Iain Spittal of North Yorkshire Police said these five strands were not “an exhaustive list of prejudices that can exist across our communities”.

He said: “We will monitor the work of Greater Manchester Police with interest and then determine if any good practice can be adopted across North Yorkshire in the future.”

The move comes as a charity criticised the five-year plan by West Yorkshire’s police and crime commissioner for failing to “build trust and confidence with minority communities”.

The West Yorkshire Racial Justice Network says Mark Burns-Williamson’s Police and Crime Plan, published last month, does not do enough to tackle hate crime and “does little to respond to the concerns of black and minority ethnic communities”.

Mr Burns-Williamson said: “Hate crime is a serious problem and is a concern for many people in West Yorkshire and nationally. That’s why it is one of the priorities in my Police and Crime Plan.”