This week 30 years ago: Islington hate crime victims ‘not reporting racist attacks because they fear police’
Islington Gazette: December 31, 1987 - Credit: Archant
Islington hate crime victims were suffering in silence – because they were afraid of the police.
An Islington Council investigation found they didn’t seek help because they feared cops would “start investigating them rather than the complaint”.
It claimed officers asked complainants for passports, questioned their immigration status and were unhelpful and impatient.
The report said “unhelpful” police attitudes led to “under-reporting” of racist attacks.
Meanwhile, a £10,000 Christmas gift to help kids suffering cancer turned out to be just... a tenner.
The New Barbican Hotel looked “astoundingly generous” when the donation to the mayor of Islington’s charity – the Barts Hospital children’s cancer ward appeal – was announced.
But a red-faced hotel chief had to tell mayor Cllr Terry Herbert: “Sorry, our public relations people dropped a clanger.” The PR officer had misread a note about the donation, somehow mistaking £10,000 for £10.
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But Cllr Herbert took it all in good humour, saying: “Every donation, no matter how big or small, is a help.”
