Investigating the nature and impact of hate crime : a study based in North Wales

Abstract

This research investigates the nature and impact of hate crime in the local context of North Wales.
The concept of hate crime is difficult to define, explain and measure so this study begins by examining the complexfacets associated with hate crime. This thesis proposes that the emergence of hate crime primarily stemmed from the work of campaigners and activists in calling for further recognition, consequently increasing attention to the social problem of bias and prejudicial behaviour in both public and political domains. The racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 was a catalyst for great change in the response to hate crime in Wales. Most notably the role of North Wales Police and Third Party Organizations representing the region of North Wales are investigated and discussed. With changing societal attitudes to diversity and tolerance a plethora of hate crime
laws became the main governmental response, however thejustificationfor such laws has divided academics. This research used a mixed-method approach; self-administered questionnaire, semistructured interviews and embedded participation observation. The results also indicate that hate crime is open to variant subjective individual judgements, increasing the likelihood of inconsistent and confusing practical implementation of hate crime in a real life context. In addition, the results suggest that the rural context of North Wales has an impact on hate crime. Racist incidents are the most commonly reported incidents and "go back to your own country" is the most common epithet
in North Wales. Similar to the national picture North Wales police has major difficulties concerning the under-reporting of hate crimes and the potential for repeat victimization. Furthermore, the results suggest that hate crimes do affect the daily lives of minority groups living in North Wales.

Date of Award	2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Bangor University