Updated: 21/10/2009
Updated: 21/10/2009
The brothers had simply gone to visit a friend when they were set upon by 3 youths who racially abused them. When the brothers said they did not want any trouble and were only coming to visit a friend, the youths called him a “Paki lover” and threatened him also.
They then assaulted brothers using a knife to inflict the cuts and tendon damage.
Fortunately passers by called the police and ambulance and the attackers were arrested.
About a month later the brothers approached the CAB wanting to know how they could find out what had happened to their case, feeling that despite being the victims of this assault nothing had been done about it.
They were referred to PARINS case worker Tas Hussain who contacted the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to check on progress. He also advised the brothers they could claim compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.
Tas was able to discover that the 3 youths and a female who had been with them had all been arrested and charged and were subsequently prosecuted.
The applications for criminal injuries compensation resulted in an award of £4,500 to the two brothers.
After PARINS intervention one of the brothers commented: “I always thought the police did nothing but perhaps I was wrong in thinking that”.
This was undoubtedly a brutal and vicious assault which was completely unprovoked,” said Tas Hussain. “Having suffered serious injuries the brothers felt let down by ‘the system’ when they were not kept fully informed by the police.“
“Fortunately, we were able to use our excellent relationship with the local police to find out what was going on and help keep the brothers fully informed on the progress of the case.
“They were also completely unaware that they were entitled to compensation, and although it does not make up for the affects of the attack, the money goes some way to compensating them for their ordeal,” Tas said.
“PARINS main role in incidents like this is to provide support and assistance to the victims of racial harassment or assault,” said Stoke CAB Equalities Team Manager Jude Hawes. “In many cases what is required is someone to liaise with the various statutory agencies involved to make sure they are responding as they should and that they keep the victims fully informed of what is happening.
“The beauty of the PARINS approach is that it is a genuine partnership of statutory and voluntary organisations where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.
“We believe this partnership approach is extremely important in maintaining and restoring people’s faith in the criminal justice system which is often seen as remote and unresponsive.”
“In a city where a Government survey in 2004 found 40% of people thought that people being attacked because of their skin colour or ethnic origin was a serious problem the need for PARINS is as great now as it has ever been. That is the sad reality of community relations within the city,” Jude concluded.