Hate-crime offences in Ards and North Down have increased by 79 percent in the last recorded year
The outgoing Mayor for Ards and North Down has thanked members of the public for defending and attempting to protect three victims of an alleged race hate crime, from what she said “could have been much more serious injuries”.
Lord Mayor and Alliance Councillor for Holywood and Clandeboye Gillian McCollum, in what were her closing public statements as first citizen in council, spoke out against alleged race-hate incidents in Helens Bay, and praised the solidarity of those people at the beach who sought to defend the victims.
On Monday evening, three men in their 30s were seriously injured in what is alleged to have been a racially-motivated assault at Helen’s Bay, County Down. At 9pm, police received a report that the men were assaulted by three others on the beach, following an earlier verbal altercation.
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Three men were later arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon after police stopped them in a vehicle. All three have been released on bail.
In her closing remarks during “Mayor’s Business,” Mayor McCollum told the chamber at Bangor Castle on Wednesday evening (May 27): “Finally I must acknowledge the deeply distressing, brutal and racially motivated assault that occurred in Helen’s Bay on Monday night, puncturing what was otherwise a wonderful and heart-warming holiday weekend in our borough.
“Our thoughts go out of course to the families of the three men who were seriously injured, and our thanks to the members of the public who bravely intervened and prevented what would have been much more serious injuries, and of course our thanks to the PSNI for responding so quickly and apprehending the (alleged) assailants.”
Ards and North Down District Chief Inspector Hutchinson said: “At 9pm, we received a report that three men aged in their thirties had been assaulted on the beach by three other men, following an earlier verbal altercation. They sustained a number of serious, but non-life threatening, injuries.
“A short time later, three men aged 28, 23 and 21 were stopped in their vehicle and arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a quantity of suspected class A and class B drugs, and the 23 year old was subsequently further arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs.”
Chief Inspector Hutchinson added: “This matter is being treated as a racially-motivated hate crime. We know that this was shocking for those enjoying the evening sunshine on the beach and want to reassure the local community that our investigation is progressing at pace.
“We had an increased police presence in the area to ensure that everyone left the beach safely, and were on the scene quickly – but I want to commend members of the public who helped to prevent the altercation from escalating further. We’re particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have recorded footage of the incident.”
In December, Mayor McCollum called for more community safety in the borough, with hate offences reported to be up 79 percent there in the last recorded year. In that year, anti-social behaviour incidents rose by 2.6 percent, with 3,159 cases reported. While hate-crime offences increased by 79 percent, hate-motivated incidents rose by 34 percent.
Craig Blaney, Ulster Unionist Party Councillor for Bangor Central, will be the next Mayor of Ards and North Down Borough Council. He will be formally installed to the position at the council’s Annual General Meeting on June 3. James Cochrane, DUP Councillor for Bangor East and Donaghadee, will become Deputy Mayor.
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