To ask the Minister of Justice what action his Department has taken to target racist behaviour outside the Belfast area, specifically in East Londonderry.

Through the Community Safety Strategy for Northern Ireland 2012 – 2017, my Department is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime, including racist hate crime, and reducing the harm it causes through prevention, awareness and education. My officials are also working with OFMDFM officials, who are responsible for wider racial equality, to tackle race hate and behaviours which may not manifest into crime.

Regionally, the Department of Justice delivers a range of initiatives to tackle hate crime. Examples include part funding a Hate Incident Practical Action Scheme to provide personal protection and safety measures at, or in the vicinity of, the home of a hate crime victim; investing in the hate crime advocacy service to ensure support for victims; and part funding an initiative to identify a Tension Monitoring model with a view to rolling it out to all areas through PCSPs. The Probation Board Northern Ireland and the Youth Justice Agency, among others, are also delivering initiatives to prevent offending through early stage intervention and support a range of programmes to address offending behaviour, including community and restorative approaches. My officials continue to develop links with local groups representing ethnic minorities to increase understanding of the issues faced and to increase confidence in the justice sector.

At a local level, my Department funds the Policing and Community Safety Partnerships (PCSPs) which deliver a range of initiatives to tackle hate crime. For example, in East Londonderry, the PCSPs financially support projects such as ‘Hands off My Friend’ and ‘YES’ which are designed to challenge attitudes that contribute to hate crime. Such projects engage with local schools to educate young people about prejudice and raise awareness of the impact of hate crime. On a practical level, assistance is also offered to victims of racist attacks including arranging community service squads to clean racist graffiti.