Tougher sentences sought for racial crimes

JUDGES SHOULD be encouraged to impose tougher sentences on those who commit racially motivated crimes, according to a report by the National Action Plan Against Racism.

The report, Combating Racism and Xenophobia through the Criminal Law, says there are weaknesses and gaps in the way racism is dealt with in the courts.

While official figures suggest there are low levels of racially motivated crime in Ireland compared to other EU countries, there is an upward trend of such incidents.

Last year, there were 180 incidents of racism reported to gardaí, up from a figure of 66 incidents in 2004.

Many observers say there is considerable under-reporting and that the problem is greater.

The report makes a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring these crimes are dealt with more effectively. They include:

• Updating the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 to include racism on the internet.

• Promoting the use of the Public Order and Offences against the Person Acts as a means of prosecuting racist incidents.

• The publication of an annual Garda report on the level of racist crime in Ireland.

The authors of the report, Jennifer Schweppe and Dermot Walsh of the University of Limerick's centre for criminal justice, said there was considerable scope for improvement in Irish law in this area. But they point out the changes to the law on their own will not be sufficient.

"Criminal offences created by the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989 could be expanded, aggravated sentencing could be introduced for racially motivated crimes, and the whole issue of cyber-racism needs to be addressed," they say in the report.

"Changes in the criminal law will be insufficient by themselves. It is clearly established at both national and international level that greater dividends will ensue from more substantial investment in social and educational measures to tackle racist mindsets."

Launching the report yesterday, chairwoman of the National Action Plan Against Racism Lucy Gaffney said there needed to be a major programme of education among gardaí, the judiciary and all those working in the administration of justice to ensure there is greater awareness of the potential of existing Irish law to deal with racism.

"This is a complex area but the judiciary must send out a clear message that, in the new intercultural Ireland, racist crime will not be tolerated and that it will be severely punished in the courts," she said.

"To do this they must have the confidence that current Irish law allows them to impose tougher sentences on those who commit racially motivated crime.

"A large-scale campaign of education must be undertaken with the judiciary to hammer this message home," she added.