Police Chief Apologises in Asylum Row
hcone | 22.07.2004 15:32
A council which was told by a policewoman that it had underestimated the problems caused by asylum seekers in its area said today it had received an apology from her Chief Constable over the affair.
Police Chief Apologises in Asylum Row
By Simon Baker, PA News
A council which was told by a policewoman that it had underestimated the problems caused by asylum seekers in its area said today it had received an apology from her Chief Constable over the affair.
Medway Council in Kent said comments made by Pc Caroline Pope, who reportedly suggested at a local meeting that masses of asylum seekers had brought a wave of crime to the area, were “anecdotal”.
The officer is said to have told councillors last week that there were five times more asylum seekers in the area, which covers the towns of Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester, than they thought.
However, a council spokeswoman said the facts and figures used by Pc Pope had “yet to be substantiated” and Medway’s chief executive had received an apology from Kent Chief Constable Mike Fuller as a result.
She said: “We have received an apology from the Chief Constable about the comments made at the meeting. The figures we used in our report were supplied by the police.
“We believe the facts and figures used by the WPc were anecdotal and are yet to be substantiated.”
The Daily Mail reported that Pc Pope, a community liaison officer based at Rochester, contradicted figures in a council report that only 293 asylum seekers were living in the area.
Pc Pope is said to have told the meeting: “I have had a great deal of involvement with asylum seekers. For every one supported here we have probably found five or six who are squatting.
“Since October there have been five stabbings, also a firearms incident. One individual has been responsible for a great number of street robberies.”
Kent Police also sought to play down the row and stressed that minority groups including asylum seekers were still more likely to be the victims of crime rather than the cause.
Referring to media reports about the meeting, a spokesman said: “It is not helpful to fuel alarm and hatred at a time when we want to move forward in a positive way to ensure the safety of communities in Kent and Medway.
“Comments attributed to one of our officers were selective and ignored her efforts, and those of others at the meeting, to put specific information in context as part of their work to build, rather than undermine, safer communities.
“Only 0.3% of incidents in the Medway area in the first six months of this year involved asylum seekers or others from particular minority ethnic groups and they were victims of crime more often than being responsible for it.”
By Simon Baker, PA News
A council which was told by a policewoman that it had underestimated the problems caused by asylum seekers in its area said today it had received an apology from her Chief Constable over the affair.
Medway Council in Kent said comments made by Pc Caroline Pope, who reportedly suggested at a local meeting that masses of asylum seekers had brought a wave of crime to the area, were “anecdotal”.
The officer is said to have told councillors last week that there were five times more asylum seekers in the area, which covers the towns of Chatham, Gillingham and Rochester, than they thought.
However, a council spokeswoman said the facts and figures used by Pc Pope had “yet to be substantiated” and Medway’s chief executive had received an apology from Kent Chief Constable Mike Fuller as a result.
She said: “We have received an apology from the Chief Constable about the comments made at the meeting. The figures we used in our report were supplied by the police.
“We believe the facts and figures used by the WPc were anecdotal and are yet to be substantiated.”
The Daily Mail reported that Pc Pope, a community liaison officer based at Rochester, contradicted figures in a council report that only 293 asylum seekers were living in the area.
Pc Pope is said to have told the meeting: “I have had a great deal of involvement with asylum seekers. For every one supported here we have probably found five or six who are squatting.
“Since October there have been five stabbings, also a firearms incident. One individual has been responsible for a great number of street robberies.”
Kent Police also sought to play down the row and stressed that minority groups including asylum seekers were still more likely to be the victims of crime rather than the cause.
Referring to media reports about the meeting, a spokesman said: “It is not helpful to fuel alarm and hatred at a time when we want to move forward in a positive way to ensure the safety of communities in Kent and Medway.
“Comments attributed to one of our officers were selective and ignored her efforts, and those of others at the meeting, to put specific information in context as part of their work to build, rather than undermine, safer communities.
“Only 0.3% of incidents in the Medway area in the first six months of this year involved asylum seekers or others from particular minority ethnic groups and they were victims of crime more often than being responsible for it.”
hcone
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