Hate Crime is any offence or hostility directed
at individuals, groups and communities because of who they are
or who someone thinks they are.
It can include threats, physical harm, property damage and
harrassment towards you, because of your race, religion,
disability, sexuality, gender identity, nationality or
ethnicity.
If you're not sure whether you have experienced an incident of
hate, Stop Hate UK offers the following rule of thumb:
if you think it is, it is.
Reporting makes a difference to you, your friends & your
community.
Research shows that there are higher levels of hate crime taking
place than are currently reported - which means that some of the
people in our communities who are being made to feel vulnerable or
unsafe, are suffering in silence.
When you report hate crime, you WILL be taken seriously.
The Police will investigate all incidents of hate sensitively to
decide whether a crime has been committed. If there is enough
evidence to bring about a realistic prospect of conviction, it is
more likely that a prosecution will be in the public interest. So
in these cases, the court can increase the sentence.
As well as getting the support you need, you can stop it
happening to anyone else, by helping the Police to better
understand the level of hate crime in your area & improve
the way the Police respond to it.
Tackling Hate Crime
Merseyside Police have a dedicated team of specially
trained officers who can help with reports of incidents of hate.
This
Unit is called PVPU (Protecting Vulnerable People Unit). They can
be contacted
Online, via 101, or in an emergency situation, you should
always call 999 (if you feel like you are in immediate danger)
If you don't feel able to report an incident to the
Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner has funded Stop
Hate UK, a third party service, who are able to take reports of
hate crime 24 hours a day, over the phone, online, in an email, in
the post and you can even text them on: 07717 989 025 - someone is
always available to support you!
The charity provides independent and confidential support to
people affected by Hate Crime. There are a number of ways you can
contact them;