Hate crime date collection welcomed

“We welcome the Human Rights Commission proposal to collect better information when hate crimes take place,” New Zealand Jewish Council President Stephen Goodman said today.

“Recording hate crimes as such, and identifying the perpetrators as well as the victims, will help identify patterns. The information should be used for protecting victims as well as targeting aggressors.”

Mr Goodman called on the Human Rights Commission to consult fully with minority communities – whether based on ethnicity, religion, disability, or sexual orientation – who are the main targets of hate crimes.

“Unfortunately, Jewish communities around the world have experience with recording hate crimes, and we offer to share this experience with the Human Rights Commission and Police. In the UK, for example, the Jewish Community Security Trust (CST) helped to establish the anti-Muslim hate crime support service, Tell MAMA,” he explained.

“It is good to hear the Race Relations Commissioner say that there is no need for new hate crime laws,” Stephen Goodman added. “Freedom of speech is much too important to restrict, unless there is also a threat of violence involved.”

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