Royal commission into Christchurch attack highlights the need to establish better recording of hate crimes

The report (available here) recommends:

“New Zealand Police to revise the ways in which they record complaints of criminal conduct to capture systematically hate-motivations for offending and train frontline staff in:

a) identifying bias indicators so that they can identify potential hate crimes when
they perceive that an offence is hate-motivated;

b) exploring perceptions of victims and witnesses so that they are in a position to
record where an offence is perceived to be hate-motivated; and

c) recording such hate-motivations in a way which facilitates the later use of section
9(1)(h) of the Sentencing Act 2002.”

 

Also, the report advises that:

 

“New Zealand needs fit for purpose laws and policies. This extends to ensuring the Intelligence and Security Act 2017 and Terrorism Suppression Act 2002 are both fit for purpose, providing for hate crime offences, creating a workable approach to hate speech and encouraging the better recording of reports of hate crime. Also important is the need for New Zealand Police to improve their administration of the firearms licensing system.”