Police agree hate crime data sharing measures with CST and TELL MAMA

The police have reached an agreement with Jewish and Muslim community organisations to share hate crime data.

The agreement enables sharing of anonymous data with the CST (the Community Security Trust) and TELL MAMA (which measures anti-Muslim attacks), to increase understanding of the nature and extent of hostility.

Police will only refer individual details with the express permission of the victim, whilst committing to ensuring security and accuracy of the data, meeting standards of data protection.

The Chief Executive of the CST, David Delew welcomed the move, saying:  “CST is proud of our close working partnership with the police across the UK. Our existing data sharing agreements are delivering real benefits for us all in our understanding of hate crime in local areas. This latest development will see those benefits replicated throughout the UK”.

Fiyaz Mughal, the Chief Executive of Tell MAMA said  “TELL MAMA is developing strong and close working relationships with police forces across the UK.”

“We believe that data sharing agreements form the backbone that will ensure police and TELL MAMA have a good understanding of what’s happening at the local level and are able to pick up trends and respond accordingly.”

The chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to combat Antisemitism, John Mann MP called the move “an important and welcome step from the police.”

“They are the first to implement one of the recommendations of our recent All-Party Parliamentary Report into Antisemitism and should be congratulated for doing so. Data sharing between the police and CST allows the UK to boast one of, if not, the best data set on antisemitism in the world. I am delighted that we continue to pave the way for others to act”.

National Policing Lead for Hate Crime, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said: “It is essential that we have the fullest picture of targeted hate crime so that we can put measures in place to protect victims and bring offenders to justice. In the UK, we have some of the best reporting structures in the world but we know that many crimes are never reported to authorities. It’s vital that we share available data to give us the clearest picture of the extent of hostility.