Convictions for race hate crime in Sussex have more than tripled in just four years, the Government has revealed.

According to Home Office records, 121 people were sentenced by the courts for racially-aggravated violence in 2006 - up from 35 in 2002.

The data, which show successful court prosecutions, were published to the Commons by Policing minister Tony McNulty in a Parliamentary Answer.

Sussex Police said it hoped the increase in convictions was caused by an increasing willingness of victims to come forward and report offences rather than an increase in racial attacks.

A spokesman for the force said: "There is no doubt the numbers reflect an increase in the degree of urgency that we give to this aspect of our work.

"For instance, we have a number of anti-victimisation units set up in Brighton and Hove and across Sussex with specific remits to deal with hate crime, and racially aggravated crime is an important element of that. It's an area we have specifically targeted in recent years.

"We will always take any complaints of crimes of violence which appear to be racially aggravated alongside homophobic crime and crimes against vulnerable people a high level of priority."

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