West Mercia Police and Worcestershire County Cricket Club team up on Hate Crime

We have teamed up with Worcestershire County Cricket Club to provide a safer and more enjoyable sport for all.

Worcestershire County Cricket Club supports and encourages all people to report incidents to the police regardless of the circumstances, whether a formal complaint is made or not. This will allow us to record the crime accurately and disseminate resources with efficiency.

PC Dane Roleston-Lowe, PC Rob Seewoosaha and PC Alice Victor met with Worcestershire Chairman Fanos Hira and first-team squad players Dillon Pennington and Ed Barnard at the start of December to discuss the partnership, and how the Club can work together with West Mercia Police.

Anyone with concerns around public order offences, including the use of threatening or abusive words, any unlawful violence, including assault and any hate crimes, should report the behaviour. 

Hate crimes can include any incident, in person or online, when people are targeted for any of the following, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or gender identification, and should all be reported.

The Club will also report any incidents at New Road or witnessed on the Club’s social media channels to West Mercia Police.

The information reported will also provide the police with the knowledge of repeat individuals and incidents, allowing appropriate action to be conducted.

PC Rob Seewoosaha said: “It’s great to be working so closely with such a recognisable leader within our community. Everyone at the Club is fully supportive of our zero tolerance for hate crimes and any incident of hate speech, violence or intimidation will be reported and fully reviewed.

“Hate directed at someone via online platforms, texts or social media will also be vigorously investigated. The Hate Crime Team have recently been involved in three separate investigations as a result of racial hatred and racial comments on social media platforms during the EURO 2020 finals. A number of England football players were racially abused. If anyone thinks they can send messages of hate and think its ‘harmless banter’ is wrong; it’s a crime and they will be punished for it.”

“Remember, a hate incident is any incident which the victim, or anyone else, perceives it to be based on someone’s prejudice or hatred towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, individual characteristics or because they are transgender.

“I want to encourage anyone who believes they have been victimised or are the victim of a hate incident or crime or if they witness a hate related incident to please come forward.

“I would also ask you to empower and encourage others to report any incident to us as hate crime is everyone’s problem and by working together, just like we are with WCCC, we can bring about positive change.”

West Mercia Police will treat all crime reports seriously and treat each one with impartiality. You will be treated with respect, and officers will provide you with a unique crime reference number. During the process, officers will ask you whether you wish to pursue a formal complaint or not, and they will always explain what is expected of you. 

West Mercia Police are victim focussed. They have the welfare and support of victims as a priority as Hate crime can affect people in many different ways. The new Victim Advice Line (VAL) is used to assist victims of crime alongside other partner agencies.

Ways to report an incident:

• Calling 999 from any mobile / telephone. This is the emergency number if you feel any situation is about to get out of control.
• Calling 101. This is the non-emergency telephone number
• Completing a crime report online by clicking here
• Attend a police station. Worcestershire Policing area has the following stations that you can attend:
• Worcester: Castle Street, Worcester, WR1 3QX
• Evesham: Abbey Road, Evesham, WR11 4SR
• Droitwich: Ombersley Street East, Droitwich, WR9 8RZ
• Malvern: 7 Victoria Road, Malvern, WR14 2TE
• Kidderminster: Habberley Road, Kidderminster, DY11 6AN
• Redditch: 105 Archer Road, Redditch, B98 8DJ

Issued by AG, Corporate Communications