What is Hate Crime?
Hate crime can be defined as any incident that is perceived as being motivated by prejudice or hate. The incident must also be a criminal offence.
Hate crime can be against a person or persons because of a particular group they
belong to or are thought to belong to.
People may experience hate crime because of their:
- Race.
- Faith.
- Disability.
- Age.
or because they are:
- Lesbian, gay men, bisexual or transgender.
- Refugees.
- Asylum seekers.
- Romany people.
- Irish travellers.
A victim of a hate crime incident does not have to be member of a minority or someone who is generally considered to be a vulnerable person. Anyone can be a victim of hate crime. The crime can take many forms including physical, verbal or non-verbal. Hate crime incidents may not only cause harm to the victim or damage to their property, they can affect the whole victim’s family, friends and wider community.
Our Commitment to People Who Report Hate Crime
We will respond quickly to all contact about hate crime whether reported by phone, email, in person or through a third party. All reports will be treated in confidence.
We aim to support customers and provide a range of services to tackle hate crime.
We will carry out interviews promptly and agree a written action plan. Where appropriate we will carry out a risk assessment and ensure that contact and agreements made with complainants, witnesses and the people who have committed hate crime is recorded and confirmed in writing.
We will help customers to access specialist advice, advocacy, counselling and support services if they experience hate. crime.
Our Service Standards
We will:
- Help to arrange emergency accommodation for a customer who is a victim of hate crime and is assessed as being in immediate danger, if this will reduce the risk.
- Respond to neighbour disputes, reports of nuisance and incidents of hate crime within 3 days.
- Respond to serious incidents of hate crime by offering an interview or personal visit within 24 hours.
- Ensure that an interview will take place within 5 working days of the initial complaint, and agree an action plan.
- Ensure that all complainants will be contacted to review cases at least monthly.
- Ensure that all complainants, witnesses and people who have committed hate crime will be informed in writing, within 5 days of a case being closed, giving the reasons for doing so.
- Remove offensive or hate crime graffiti within 3 hours of this being reported.
- Other graffiti will be removed within four working days.
