Racial incidents will not be tolerated in Hastings and St Leonards, was the clear message given out by the town's leaders, at the launch of the Racial Incidents Reporting Scheme during the summer.
The scheme stretches across East Sussex and locally has been developed by the Council with the police, members of the local community and other partner service providers. It aims to encourage people to report any kind of racial nuisance, which will then be passed on to specialist case workers.
The launch event was attended by dozens of people involved in promoting and supporting the different cultures in the town. People enjoyed a fantastic relaxed atmosphere, food, music and video footage of other multicultural events.
MP Michael Foster, said: "Tackling racial abuse is not an issue for minorities but for majorities. Racism undermines and diminishes our whole community."
Council Leader Jeremy Birch, said: "We've heard that the reporting of racial incidents has gone up 107% this year. This does not mean that there are more incidents, it means that people feel confident that their complaint will be taken seriously because they know that we will not tolerate racial abuse of any kind.
"Hastings and St Leonards is a town that is changing, and the fact that we have a thriving multi-cultural community is something which I am very proud to be part of."
The Racial Incidents leaflet is available in 22 languages and has contact numbers for people to report any kind of racial nuisance in their local area. If you would like a leaflet, please contact Hastings Information Centre.
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This page last updated: 01/10/2003