Hate Crime awareness week

This week (12 to 19 October) is National Hate Crime Awareness Week which is a week of action to highlight what hate crime is and the support available for victims.

There has never been a more pivotal time for us to highlight hate crime and the force’s commitment and dedication in tackling all forms of hate.

So, what is a hate crime? Hate crime could be a physical assault, verbal abuse or incitement to hatred motivated by prejudice against religion, nationality, race, colour, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.

Superintendent Ed Hancox said: “We are pleased to support Hate Crime Awareness Week again this year as it gives us the opportunity to highlight what hate crime is, the support we offer to victims and how we will not tolerate it.

“Everybody within our communities deserves the right to feel safe and we must stand together to stamp out hate crime. All forms of hate crime are simply not acceptable and people who feel different to that should have a clear understanding of the potential physical and emotional harm their behaviour has, not just to victims, but the damage it brings to communities and the division it causes.

“If you witness a hate crime, we encourage you to not accept it and to report it. By doing so you are playing a huge role in supporting your local community and sending a clear message that this behaviour is not welcome. Hate crime has no place in society and we are committed to investigating any reports whatever the circumstances, albeit online or face to face”.

“We know that some people affected by hate crime may not feel comfortable reporting an incident directly to police. In such cases incidents can be reported via True Vision, an organisation that acts as a third-party reporting centre and allows for relevant information to be passed on to us, subject to permission being granted by the person reporting”.

You can report hate crime via True Vision here: Stop Homophobic, Transphobic, Racial, Religious & Disability Hate Crime - True Vision (report-it.org.uk)

Always call 999 in an emergency.