Hate Crime

The basics

A hate crime is any crime that is motivated by hostility on the grounds of race, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or gender identity. Similarly, a hate incident is any incident
perceived by the victim, or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on the person’s:

• race
• sexual orientation
• disability
• religion
• gender identity

Hate crimes and incidents can take place anywhere - at home, in public places, at work or in school. Crimes can include threats, verbal abuse, graffiti, arson, robbery, violence, or damage.

The National Hate Crime Plan published in July 2016, focuses on 5 key areas:

• Preventing hate crime by challenging beliefs and attitudes through education for young people
• Responding to hate crime with the aim of reducing incidents through security funding and other measures
• Increasing reporting of hate crime
• Improving support for victims
• Building understanding of hate crimes through data collection and analysis

The Kirklees perspective

The Kirklees Hate Crime Strategy, created in partnership with the Hate Crime Strategic Group, sets out the principles and objectives underpinning our local service delivery. This strategy actively links in with the Kirklees Communities Partnership Plan theme of protecting people from serious harm through prevention and early intervention/ resolution.

The Kirklees Hate Crime Strategy works within a changing socio-economic and demographic environment: as a result, working collaboratively with safeguarding and victim support is central to this strategy and a key objective for tackling hate crime in Kirklees. The Strategy closely follows three fundamental principles:

• No hierarchy of hate – the service is victim focused and protects everyone equally - no one type of incident that is reported will have precedence over any other
• Hate Has No Place – the best way to address hate crime is to prevent it happening in the first place and where it does happen to support victims and hold perpetrators to account at the earliest opportunity
• Community engagement and confidence is critical to the delivery of the strategy.

Applying the Kirklees Strategy to the wider National Hate Crime Plan ensures our local
approach has the following key objectives:

• Prevention
• Early intervention
• Developing intelligence led approaches, tools and powers
• High-risk management and review
• Provision and delivery
• Review and monitoring

How to report a hate crime/incident

Emergency or ongoing

If there is a threat to life or a hate incident ongoing: Call  999

Trains and train stations

Report all hate that happens on trains, or at the station, via text to the British Transport Police on  61016

Fill in the Kirklees online form

All information you put on the form will be treated as confidential and will only be passed onto other parties if you provide permission to do so.

 Completing this form takes around 20 minutes

Report it

General Enquiries

Safer Kirklees

Telephone:  01484 221000

Email:  safer@kirklees.gov.uk