Sigma

Merseyside Police Force is one of the first forces to treat crimes against sex workers as hate crimes.

Merseyside Police is committed to providing the best service to the people of Merseyside. To provide this service, dedicated units have been set up in each area of Merseyside, They will provide quality investigation and customer service to the victims of Hate Crime, taking into account their individual needs. The Sigma  (Hate Crime Investigation) Units, will deal with crime relating to the following strands of Diversity, Disability, Race, Religion and Belief, Sexual Orientation, Transgender.

In addition if any sex worker is the victim of an assault or other crime that would appear to be motivated by the fact that they are a sex worker, such incidents are recorded as a Hate Crime.

In most cases the case is investigated by a detective from the Sigma (Hate Crime Investigation) Unit.  (Reports of robbery will continue to be dealt with by the Robbery Reduction Team).