Young people tell Essex PCC Nick Alston about rise in racist and Islamophobic bullying

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Friday February 06 2015
The Maldon and Burnham Standard reports on a local meeting held by the Essex Police and Crime Commissioner, Nick Alston, with young people as part of the regular Youth Forum meetings in the county.
The local paper reports on hate crime being the main topic of debate at the last Youth Forum meeting with a number of young people speaking up about hate crime experienced in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo murders in Paris, including racist bullying in schools.
The local paper observes “Many had been victims of racist abuse and language and some members of the group expressed concerns about their perceived rise in Islamophobia following recent terrorist incidents in Europe and Australia.
“A number of young people also told Nick that they felt teachers did not have the skills or confidence to challenge racist behaviour in schools.”
The Independent featured a report last month disclosing a spike in racist and Islamophobic bullying in schools after the murders in Paris. And while the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, has called upon mosque leaders to ramp up their efforts in tackling extremists, far less attention has been paid by his department to Muslim community concerns over the rise of Islamophobia.
The Maldon and Burnham Standard also reports that Mr Alston will work with members of the Youth Forum over the coming months “to create a project tackling hate crime in Essex over the coming months.”
Last month, the Halifax Courier noted the work undertaken by the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire, alongside West Yorkshire Police, on religious hate crime in the constabulary with a month long focus on faith based hate crime.