A NEW programme to help perpetrators of hate crimes’ change their attitude to others has been started in London’s East End. It focuses on preventing re-offending, moving away from the current focus on enforcement

A NEW programme to help perpetrators of hate crimes’ change their attitude to others has been started in London’s East End.

It focuses on preventing re-offending, moving away from the current focus on enforcement.

The programme being run by the London Probation Service for Tower Hamlets’ Youth Offending team has been commissioned by the local authority to run for 12 months.

“It aims to work with youngsters on a practical level,” a Town Hall spokesman explained. “We are asking them to look at why they hold certain beliefs and prejudice and working to change their attitudes.”

The programme first piloted in Britain in 2001 has been designed for offenders convicted of racially aggravated offences, but has since been extended to include religiously aggravated and homophobic crime.

It aims to reduce the risk of re-offending by challenging attitudes to try and change an offender’s preconceptions.