PSNI campaign to target racism

THE PSNI has unveiled a new campaign against racist and other hate crimes.

THE PSNI has unveiled a new campaign against racist and other hate crimes.

The poster campaign is aimed at raising awareness of the levels of racist and other incidents and follows attacks in Tyrone and Armagh at the weekend.

In the first incident, four Lithuanian adults, one of them eight months pregnant, escaped uninjured when their home and car were petrol-bombed in Cookstown.

In the second attack, another Lithuanian was beaten by two men who burst into his home in Craigavon.

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The new PSNI campaign will focus on Belfast, as well as Craigavon, Co Armagh; Ballymena and Lisburn, Co Antrim; and Coleraine, Magherafelt and the Foyle area of Co Derry.

PSNI figures show an 11 per cent rise in racist incidents last year, but officers say the true levels of such crime remain hidden.

The police campaign will centre on the range of hate crimes, including racist, homophobic and sectarian crimes, and the need to have them reported promptly to the PSNI.

"The advertisements put the issue in clear and simple terms - hate crime is unacceptable, no one deserves it and no one deserves to get away with it. To stop it, report it," Asst Chief Constable Drew Harris said.