Hate Crime

A Hate Incident is any event which is perceived by the victim, or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice towards a person’s race, colour, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or disability.

When an event motivated by any of these things becomes a criminal offence, such as physical assault, mental abuse, damage to property, or other crimes, it becomes a Hate Crime. 

Hate Crimes or Incidents are dealt with very seriously by us and the Police. The impact on victims of hate crimes can be devasting. It is important that you report a Hate Crime or Hate Incidents even if they do not directly affect you.

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Hate Crimes Include:

• Violence or threats of violence
• Abusive or insulting words or behaviour
• Damage or threats of damage to property
• Graffiti
• Arson or attempted arson

We always take hate crime incidents and complaints very seriously, and we will:

• Respect your decisions regarding how we deal with it including anonymity
• Act quickly to deal with the situation, such as remove offensive graffiti and carry out repairs if needed as a result of the incident as a matter of urgency
• Be honest with you about the possible outcome of the case
• Establish contact with the best people to help and support you
• Support you in contacting the police
• Do everything possible to help you move to another home if the matter can’t be solved
• Support you to stay in your home if you don’t want to move
• Help you to take legal action where needed
• Allow you to give feedback on our handling of your case

We work in partnership with the Police and Local Authorities, and the action we take will depend on the evidence available.

However, we may not be able to do much if there is not much evidence, the action is not witnessed, or evidence is contradictory.

We might need to gather more evidence before we can do anything to help, and we may only be able to talk to the offender; but we will keep in touch until you are happy that the matter has been resolved.

With your permission, we will work with partners like the police and local authorities if the evidence is clear and substantial.