Why We Built a Tool to Map Racist Hate in NI
PPR has been organising alongside asylum seekers since 2016, in campaigns to improve housing and living standards and to challenge enforced destitution and the work ban. This work has been grounded in people’s experiences of discrimination and racism. Our Kind Economy campaign emerged in the spring of 2022, highlighting both asylum seekers' voices and the local solidarity offered to counterbalance the UK Home Office's hostile environment policies. As part of our ongoing contextual research work, we have been tracking and logging incidents of race hate throughout that time.
In August 2023, a spate of racist attacks briefly shocked Northern Ireland. Far-right and paramilitary violence against Black and Minority Ethnic communities made headlines — and then, just as quickly, faded from the news. But for the victims a critical question remained: what did the authorities actually know, and what were they doing with that information? The pursuit of an answer led directly to the creation of this public monitoring tool.
At PPR, our response was two-fold: to keep a spotlight on the victims and to build a practical tool for communities under threat. While supporting families and businesses who had been attacked, we started asking hard questions. What data existed on racist violence? Who held it? Crucially, was it being shared and used to protect people and direct resources? We have provided further information about our investigation into the data held on racist violence in more detail here, for those users who would like to find out more.
A tool for action
This platform is for everyone fighting racism in Northern Ireland: community organisers, human rights advocates, journalists, policymakers, and the victims themselves. We will continuously update it with data, analysis of prosecution rates, victim testimonies, and assessments of public spending.
It is designed to be a live resource for accountability and action. If you have an idea about information you'd like to see included on the website, please get in touch.
Freedom of Information
Following the Sandy Row arson attacks in 2023, we filed formal FOI requests to the PSNI, NI Housing Executive, and Department of Justice. We asked for data to cross-reference racist hate crimes with paramilitary activity, seeking to understand the connections.
The Department of Justice stated it was “not within the remit” of any Permanent Secretary to instruct other bodies to gather or share data. The NI Housing Executive said data on “verified paramilitary threats” was collected case-by-case and couldn't be aggregated, and refused to share data on the ethnicity of households made homeless by intimidation. The PSNI did not respond.
Yet, we discovered that behind the scenes, a different story was unfolding. While being told data didn't exist or couldn't be shared, we found evidence that it was.
A 'heat mapping' system was in operation. Minutes from Belfast City Council meetings revealed that the Home Office, PSNI, and NIHE were collaborating to map areas as Green, Amber, or Red to assess safety for housing asylum seekers.
This proved that sensitive data on threats was being shared internally between agencies. When we asked for details of these maps, we were met with the same wall of exemptions and referrals as for the FOI requests.
Why this matters now
Months after our FOI requests were dismissed, the worst racially motivated riots in living memory erupted. We saw first-hand the devastating human cost and the labyrinthine barriers victims face in seeking justice and compensation.
This tool exists because transparency is the first line of defence. If authorities will not be open about the threats they map in private, we will build public accountability.
We will continue to support communitiesimpacting by racism to map the incidents, track the responses, and demand action.
