Huge Rise in Race Attacks on White Men
Source: The Oldham Chronicle, http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/ January 31st 2001
Huge Rise in Race Attacks on White Men
by SAMANTHA MANNION
RACIAL crime in Oldham has hit record levels, with a massive increase in violent attacks on lone white men.
Chief Supt Eric Hewitt, head of Oldham police division, said that he is extremely concerned about the increase of racist attacks by gangs of Pakistani and Bangladeshi youths on white men.
Mr Hewitt said: ?During the past 12 months, 572 racial incidents have been investigated by police – which is a record level. Out of these attacks, 60 per cent of the victims were white.?
His comments come days after 23-year-old Mark Clayton lost between four and five pints of blood after an unprovoked, racist attack by a gang of Asian thugs.
Mark, who lives with his parents, in Werneth, was punched and kicked before being stabbed twice in the leg, severing a main artery, as he walked through the underpass at Manchester Street, on Saturday evening.
Mr Hewitt today revealed a worrying trend in the number of similar attacks, especially during the past two months.
He said: ?I am concerned about the level of violence, which has increased dramatically in recent months. Most of these attacks are violent and unprovoked, while some are active robberies.
There is no doubt that there are serious consequences, such as death, when people are going out carrying knives and bricks, which are then used to attack people.
?While these gangs are hitting victims over the head with bricks or stabbing them, there is a serious risk that someone will be killed and this cannot be overstated.?
Mr Hewitt said the increase in attacks had been particularly marked in Chadderton and Westwood, where gangs of between five and 20 Asian youths have targeted victims.
He added: ?The common theme in most of these attacks is that the assailants are Pakistani and Bangladeshi and the victims are white.?
And to combat this growing trend, police are now increasing the number of uniformed patrols in the target areas, as well as carrying out additional investigations using the Racial Incident Unit and the CID.
Mr Hewitt said: ?We will identify the people responsible for the attack on Mr Clayton and bring them to justice. Their behaviour will not be tolerated?
Residents living near the scene of Saturday?s attack say they now fear for their lives. And they are pleading with the police and Oldham Council to do something about the attacks, before someone is killed.
Mrs Mary Turner, of Crossbank House Tenants? Association, said that many people were terrified to leave their homes following a spate of robberies and violent crime in the area.
She said: ?It seems that a week doesn?t go by without someone being intimidated or mugged. Most of the time it seems to be racially motivated, with gangs of Asian youths shouting abuse at us and telling us we shouldn?t be in the area.?
Mr Hewitt added: ?We recognise the concerns of local people and we have put a bid in for CCTV cameras for that underpass.
?A decision is expected imminently and this will mean several cameras being placed in the area, covering the hot spots.?
Source: The Oldham Evening Chronicle, http://www.oldham-chronicle.co.uk/ February 1st 2001
Race Attacks: Three More in a Day
by CLARE FLETCHER and RICHARD TOMS
THREE more white men became victims of violent attacks last night – within hours of a community leader making a heartfelt request for racial calm.
The assaults – including one in which a man was bitten by a Rottweiler – happened on the same night as Councillor Mohammed Azam attended the West Oldham Area Committee meeting, calling for the town to unite against racism.
News of the attacks sent shock waves through the town, coming just four days since a 23-year-old man was left fighting for his life after a near-fatal racist stabbing, and hours after top police officer, Chief Supt Eric Hewitt, revealed that racial crime in Oldham had hit record levels.
In one attack, at 10 pm, a white 21-year-old man was bitten by a Rottweiler dog belonging to a member of a five-strong Asian gang, which struck as he walked along Vale Drive, Werneth. The dog was set on the man and bit him on the leg. He was then hit on the back of the head. He was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital and released after treatment.
Earlier, just after 4.30 pm, a passer-by called police saying a white man being attacked by 10 Asian men at Monmouth Street. But when officers got there, the victim, and the gang, had gone.
At 11.30 pm, at Ashton Road, a 20-year-old white man was hit by one of a five-strong gang of Asians. They stole =A3150 and tried to take his mobile telephone. All were aged between 16 and 20. One was 5ft 11ins tall, with a middle parting, and wearing a red bubble jacket and dark jeans. An accomplice was 5ft 2ins tall and was wearing a white jacket.
A call was made at the West Oldham Area Committee last night for Oldham to unite against racism, after a concerned parent raised the issue of schoolchildren in rival gangs staging fights.
Councillor Mohammed Azam said: =93I think racism is an evil we all need to fight. Finding the root causes is the way to tackle it.
Councillor Peter Dean said that violence in schools reflected what was happening on the street, but that parents had a responsibility too. He said: “Each family has a duty to instill an ethic of peace in their children.”
