SDLP Opposition Justice Spokesperson Patsy McGlone MLA has raised the need for tougher hate crime legislation at Stormont.
He was speaking during evidence from the Human Rights Commission on the Criminal Justice (Sentencing) Bill at the Justice Committee on Thursday.
Mr McGlone raised the issue in the context of racist disorder witnessed across the North in recent days.
Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone said, “During the disorder of recent days we have seen families driven from their homes – children as young as two months burnt out, a nurse attacked while travelling to work and communities left living in fear. These crimes were clearly motivated by racist hatred and it is crucial that those responsible are brought to justice and that the hate element of their offending is properly reflected in any sentence imposed.
“The North remains without standalone hate crime legislation. I raised with the Human Rights Commission and the Justice Committee today the need to ensure that those responsible for scenes like those we have witnessed recently cannot benefit from gaps in the law or receive lesser sentences because their motivations are not given sufficient weight.
“Robust hate crime legislation is long overdue and the upcoming sentencing legislation falls short of that. We must send a clear message that crimes motivated by hatred will be treated with the seriousness they deserve and that those responsible will face the full consequences of their actions.
“Anyone who drives families from their homes and forces communities to live in fear should expect to face the strongest possible sanctions. That requires not only effective policing, but laws that properly recognise and punish hate crime.”
ENDS
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