Hate incidents and crimes happen because of hostility, prejudice or hatred of another person because of their actual or perceived disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.
No two hate incidents are the same but they may include the following:
• Verbal abuse and name-calling
• Physical attack
• Graffiti or other deliberate damage to property
• Written or recorded threats
If you see someone getting hassled and you think it’s because of their disability, gender identity (transgender), race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation, you can report it as a hate incident, even if the victim has not done so.
Why should all hate incidents be reported?
These incidents don’t just affect the lives of those involved but affect their friends, their families, and every part of the local community.
If hate incidents are not reported, the bullies, bigots and thugs will feel their behaviour is totally acceptable and that they can continue to abuse people whenever they feel like it.
The dividing line between a hate incident and hate crime is sometimes a grey area. Certain incidents, such as a physical assault, would almost always be viewed as a crime.
Even if the incident isn’t investigated as a crime, it helps the police to build up a picture of where and these incidents are taking place.
The important thing is to report any incident no matter how minor you think it is.
Please click on one of the images below for more information on this topic.
