Call 999 if you are under threat
Hate Crime
What is hate crime?
A hate crime or incident is any incident that may or may not be
a criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other
person as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
The prejudice or hate can be based on a number of factors
including;
- Disability (including learning disabilities)
- Race/ ethnicity
- Religion or belief (including no belief)
- Sexual orientation
- Gender identity.
Hate Crime can take many forms including;
- Verbal abuse or insults, offensive leaflets and posters,
abusive gestures, dumping of rubbish outside homes or through
letterboxes and bullying in the school or workplace
- Threat of attack-including offensive letters, abusive obscene
telephone calls and offensive comments on social networking
sites
- Physical attack-such as physical assault, damage to property,
offensive graffiti, neighbour disputes and arson
- So called 'mate crime' could also come under Hate Crime. 'Mate
crime' is when somebody befriends a vulnerable person to take
advantage of that vulnerability.
The lack of reporting is a major issue in relation to all hate
crimes. Research shows that there are higher levels of hate crime
taking place than are currently reported.
How to report hate crime
If you have witnessed or experienced hate crime you can report
it in a number of ways:
By phone
- Call 101 or in an emergency dial 999.
- For practical advice and support call 101 and ask to speak to
your local hate crime team.
- Call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
In person
- Visit your local police station. Click here to see
where your nearest police station is.
- You can call into a third party reporting centre (i.e
Registered Social Landlords offices).
- If you prefer the pictorial version of how to deal with Hate
Crime and make a report, or you are looking after a
person who would benefit from having this version
please click here.
Report online
- Click here to
report hate crime to via 'True Vision' - a hate crime website set
up by police forces from across the country.
- Click here
to report hate crime to Crimestoppers online.
- If you live in certain areas of Merseyside, your local
authority may pay into a reporting system called Stop hate UK. They
can be contacted on 0800 138 1625 or via the Internet on
StopHateUK.org
We also regularly hold informal drop-in sessions where you can
discuss any worries you may have and report any incident that has
affected you or your community. Sessions focusing on lesbian, gay
and bisexual hate crime are held at The Masquerade Club in
Cumberland Street on the first Tuesday of each month and The
Armistead Centre in Stanley Street on the third Tuesday of each
month.
If you feel uncomfortable contacting any of the above agencies,
please speak with a trusted community member who could help you
make the report.