Protests at Chimney Corner

Request Number: FOI/16502

Category: Incident and Crime Statistics - Hate Crime and Equality

Subject: Protests at Chimney Corner

Request and Answer: 
Your request for information has now been considered. In respect of Section 1(1)(a) of the Act we can confirm that the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) does hold information to which your request relates. The decision has been taken to disclose the following.

Request
We are seeking to understand the policing response to protests at hotels used (by Mears Group, under contract with the Home Office) to house asylum seekers. 
With regard to the weekly (Friday /Saturday) protests outside Chimney Corner Hotel at Antrim Road, Newtownabbey, please provide, for the period May 2025 to the present:

Request 1
The total number of calls/reports made to the PSNI related to the above

Request 2
The total number of:

(a) hate incidents
(b) hate crimes recorded by the PSNI related to the above

Request 3
The total number of operational responses made by the police in relation to the above

Clarification requested:
Can you please confirm the following:

For question 1 - you are seeking how many calls and reports were received?

For question 3 - you would like to know how many Police attended in relation to Question 1?

Clarification received:
Yes that's right, if possible wed like to know the number of (1) calls/reports received. For (3) Rather than the number of police officers who attended it would be more the number of times or instances that police attended.

Answers 1-3.
The total number of reports made to PSNI regarding the above was 11.

None of the above have been classed as a Hate incident/Crime. It should be noted that non-crime hate incidents are defined as follows, "Any incident where the perpetrator’s hostility or prejudice against an identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised.” 

Since 1st May 2025, PSNI attended 12 occurrences of protest at the Chimney Corner Hotel, Newtownabbey.