Garda response blamed for fewer victims reporting racist attacks

An Increasing number of victims of racist attacks are not reporting the crimes to garda∅ because they are unhappy with the response they get, a spokes- man for the Pan African Organisation has said.

Mr Gabriel Ohkenla was speaking at the publication of the first report on racist incidents from the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) in Dublin yesterday.

Responding to a recommendation that victims of such attacks report them, he said: "Many people have resolved not to report any racism to the police because there is no point. I have been to a police station and was very disturbed to note that the person I was reporting to was a racist in a uniform," he said. Mr Philip Watt of the NCCRI agreed that some incidents had come to the committee's attention where garda∅ appeared dismissive or unconcerned.

A Garda spokesman would not comment on Mr Ohkenla's situation, but said the force had had a "proactive approach to multicultural policing for a number of years", and the Garda racial and intercultural office was established earlier this year.