Criminals’ Ethnicity Data Underreported Due to Fears of Racism
Concerns rise as police and courts record less ethnicity data on criminals
UK, Ethnicity, Criminal Justice, Grooming Gangs, Racism
London: It’s been revealed that police and courts are collecting less data on the ethnicity of criminals than they have in the last 15 years. This drop is mainly due to fears of being labeled racist.
Some senior Tory MPs are calling this a state “cover-up” regarding the impacts of migration. They argue that not tracking this data is a serious issue.
Recent government figures show a troubling trend. The percentage of crimes, including serious ones like child sexual abuse, where ethnicity isn’t recorded has tripled over the past 15 years.
For instance, in 2010, 11.6% of child sex offenders had no recorded ethnicity. Fast forward to last year, and that number jumped to 28.7%. It’s a similar story for all sexual offences.
This lack of data collection isn’t new. Back in the early 2000s, there were instances where police and local authorities didn’t report grooming scandals involving certain ethnic groups, fearing accusations of racism.
Neil O’Brien, a former minister, expressed his concern over these “data deserts.” He noted that with the increased focus on ethnicity in crime, it’s alarming that we’re seeing less data being recorded.
He expected improvements in data collection after the discussions sparked by George Floyd’s death, but instead, the opposite is happening. More crimes are being recorded with the ethnicity listed as “unknown.”
O’Brien believes this trend is due to cultural sensitivities among police and other agencies. He pointed out that there’s no significant rise in refusal to declare ethnicity in other sectors.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick emphasized the need for transparency in the criminal justice system. He argued that the lack of published data on convicted criminals’ ethnicity only fuels public suspicion about migration costs.
Jenrick is calling for the government to provide annual reports detailing the nationality and visa status of offenders in England and Wales.
While the recent focus has been on child sex abuse, the failure to collect ethnic data spans all types of crime. For example, in 2010, only 14% of robbery cases lacked ethnic data, but by 2024, that number soared to 44%.
Drug offences have seen one of the largest increases in missing data. In 2010, only 8% of drug-related crimes didn’t have recorded ethnicity, but that figure skyrocketed to 39% by 2024.
Even serious crimes like murder and rape are affected. The percentage of cases where the perpetrator’s ethnicity is unknown has risen significantly over the years.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has ordered police to improve their data collection on child sexual exploitation, stating that the current data is still lacking.
She wants police to gather more comprehensive data throughout investigations, not just at the start when suspects may not be identified yet.
Recently, a taskforce reported that individuals of Pakistani descent were disproportionately involved in child sex grooming offences. However, this data was based on only a fraction of cases.
Richard Fewkes, director of the taskforce, denied that the gaps in data were due to police officers intentionally omitting information for cultural reasons. He explained that the timing of data collection plays a significant role.
Earlier this week, Cooper announced support for local inquiries into grooming gangs, with the first one set to take place in Oldham, following public pressure.