What can be done to help BME communities to manage and
reduce their fear?
- Reduce the incidence of crime itself.
For more
detailed information and some suggestions on how to go
about doing this, please refer back to the Fear of Crime
Toolkit. The good news is that racist crime does seem to
be declining, with the number of racist incidents dropping
from an estimated half a million a year in 1995 to a third
of a million by 1999.
- Improve public confidence and trust in the criminal
justice system, including increasing that of ethnic
minorities.
The newly-created Local Criminal Justice
Boards have recently been set a Public Service Agreement
target to achieve precisely this. For more information,
look at www.cjsonline.org
On a more practical level, this means ensuring prompt
responses by criminal justice bodies and supporting
agencies, culturally sensitive conduct and effective
helpful action with regard to victims and other members
of the public.
- Improve communication both to and from BME
communities.
Do BME communities in your area know
the facts about racist crime? Work with community
newspapers and newsletters to put the message across in a
medium and language that will be read and understood by
the target audience. Put up notices about crime prevention
techniques and events on the notice boards of local
mosques, temples, churches and schools.
Consult with BME communities to find out what their
concerns are, but then give them feedback on what you
are going to do to address them, so they can see that
their input is valued and is being listened to and acted
on.
For more general information and ideas on effective
communication, please refer back to the Fear of Crime
Toolkit.
- Reach out to local BME communities.
Building trust
with these communities should be given time and effort.
Continue to make an effort to recruit more BME individuals
into the CJS to overcome the perception of ‘them and us’.
Ensure that all members of staff are given diversity
training. If language is a problem, find translators to
help bridge the divide.
Many BME communities are not reassured by a visible
police presence – in fact, it can often have precisely
the opposite effect. Look at ways of adapting the
delivery of CJS agencies on the ground to make them
appear less confrontational or frightening, for example,
by making more provision for third party reporting and
setting up more local community or third party reporting
centres.
Try to engage the younger members of BME communities,
who may well be more to building up a relationship of
trust with people from outside their own communities.
Get local schools, youth clubs and community centres
involved.
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