Places of worship in the United Kingdom that are endangered or subjected to hate crimes will be backed by a 1 million-pound funding for protective security, the government declared on Friday.
Successful applicants in England and Wales will acquire up to 56,000 pounds towards reinforced security to counter the menace from hate crimes at their premises. Earlier funding has been granted when places of worship have been either victim to or at the peril of a hate attack, including graffiti, the defacing of religious symbols or onsets on worshippers, the Home Office said.
The Places of Worship: Security Funding Scheme that was launched in 2016 and is worth 2.4 million pounds in whole, has aided 89 Christian churches, mosques, temples and gurudwaras to set up cautionary dismays, security lightning and Closed-Circuit Television (CCTC) cameras to detect attackers. Under a separate government-funded scheme administrated by the Community Security Trust covered synagogues.
Minister for Countering Extremism Baroness Williams said, “Communities being able to worship their religion free from intimidation, violence or abusive behavior is a vital principle at the heart of the values we share in this country. This scheme has already helped many places of worship bolster their security and we encourage those who have suffered from or fear hate crime attacks to apply”.
Prime Minister Theresa May said, “We are a country of many faiths, and as I said following last year’s appalling terror attack in Finsbury Park an attack on one community is an attack on all of us. Freedom of worship, respect, and tolerance for those of different faiths are fundamental to our values and I am determined to stamp out extremism and hate crime wherever it occurs”.
“Security at places of worship is important to provide congregations with peace of mind, but let me be clear where groups or individuals incite hatred or are engaged in vile, religiously motivated criminal activity, they should expect to be prosecuted and face the full force of the law,” she said.
Hate crimes are reasoned as any crime committed against a person because of their real and perceived religion, in this instance.
The plan of action is a cardinal commitment of the Government Hate Crime Action Plan, which sees the Home Office, the ministry of housing, communities and local government and else regime departments functioning collectively to forestall hate crime, assist victims and prosecute the perpetrators.
“The United Kingdom has in place one of the strongest legislative frameworks in the world to protect communities from hostility, violence, and bigotry, and we keep it under constant review to ensure that it remains effective and appropriate in the face of new and emerging threats,” the Home Office said.
“We are also working with communities to ensure people know how to report any hate incidents and where to get support, and have taken steps to increase reporting of hate crime, ensuring the police now record hate crimes by the religion of the victim,” it said.
This year’s bid criteria has been made more flexible, by making it obligatory for bidders to provide evidence that they are either vulnerable to hate crime or hate been subject to hate crime within the past two years.
The bidding for the Places of Worship Security Fund will unfasten today.
By Sowmya Sangam
