This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Ethnic minorities 'reassured' on race crime
12/03/2003
The Ethnic Minorities Law Centre (EMLC) was told at a
seminar today that the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal
Service (COPFS) was committed to tackling racial
discrimination and racially motivated crime.
Solicitor General Elish Angiolini QC intended to
reassure ethnic minority communities throughout Scotland
that racially motivated crimes would continue to be dealt
with seriously, particularly at this time of heightened
international tension.
Delivering the keynote speech, the Solicitor General
said:
"Given the current international tension, I believe that
it is very important that I make clear the seriousness with
which we treat racially motivated crime.
"Ethnic minority communities may be feeling more
vulnerable at the moment and I want to underline our
determination that racially motivated crime will not damage
the safety and security of our communities. We will
continue to deal vigorously with racially motivated
crime."
Ms Angiolini set out progress on the implementation of
the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 within COPFS and
pledged that the department would continue to take a
long-term, proactive approach.
"We are committed to taking forward the provisions of
the Act and have made significant strides already. I
believe this is key to achieving the Lord Advocate's vision
of a modern, effective prosecution service responsive to
and understanding of the needs of all the communities we
serve."
"We are not complacent, however, and recognise that
there is still much to be done. We are in this for the long
term and will continue to review and assess our progress to
ensure we are on track."
The EMLC and COPFS have recently embarked on a training
initiative in which three legal trainee solicitors of the
COPFS will be seconded to the EMLC to work with a solicitor
in each of the Centre's specialist areas - race
discrimination; immigration; and asylum law.
The three Glasgow-based trainees, Lynne Barrie, Julie
Kirkland and Carey Henderson, will be seconded until August
2003 - a two-week placement will be followed by one day a
week thereafter. The initiative will be reviewed at the end
of the secondment and consideration given to extending the
practice at other locations in Scotland.
The Ethnic Minorities Law Centre provides ethnic
minority communities in the west of Scotland with access to
professional services to address unmet legal needs.
They have particular expertise in the areas of
immigration, asylum law, race discrimination and employment
issues.
EMLC
41 St Vincent Square
Glasgow G1 2ER
Tel: 0141 204 2888
www.emlc.org.uk