City marks Hate Crime Awareness Week

People are being urged to take to social media to raise awareness of Wolverhampton’s zero tolerance of hate crime during this year’s Hate Crime Awareness Week, which is now underway.

Hate Crime is any criminal offence committed against a person or property which is motivated by an offender's hatred of someone because of their race, colour, ethnic origin or nationality, their religion, their gender or gender identity, their sexual orientation or their disability.

It can take many forms, from physical attacks such as an assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti and arson, to verbal abuse or insults or the threat of attack, including the sending of offensive letters, emails or texts, abusive or obscene telephone calls or malicious complaints.

The Safer Wolverhampton Partnership is calling on people to use social media to help to raise awareness of the city’s zero tolerance to hate crime and celebrate Wolverhampton's cohesive and diverse communities during Hate Crime Awareness Week, which runs until Friday (17 October), sharing messages using the hashtag #stophateWV and tagging in @CommSafetyWV on Twitter.

People can also make and share a pledge of support for National Hate Crime Awareness Week by downloading and completing a pledge form via Stop Hate UK – www.stophateuk.org. Please share using #NHCAW #spreadlovenothate #WeStandTogether #NoPlaceForHate #SafePlaceForAll.

There are a number of ways that victims of, or witnesses to, an incident can report hate crime:

• Call police on 101 – or dial 999 or 112 if it is an emergency.
• Contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/
• Report in person to the police at any police station or one of the Police Hate Crime drop-ins - seewww.stophateWV.net for full details.
• Report at any Third-Party Reporting Centre – independent organisations that have been trained to record hate crimes and incidents, offer support and signpost to other help. See www.stophateWV.net for full details.
• Visit www.report-it.org.uk and fill in the online reporting form which will be forwarded to police for investigation.
• If an incident occurs on a train or the Midland Metro, text British Transport Police on 61016.
• If the incident is Islamophobic in nature, Tell MAMA by visiting http://tellmamauk.org/ or calling on 0800 456 1226.
• If the incident is anti-Semitic, it can be reported via Community Security Trust’s website, https://cst.org.uk/, or by calling 0208 457 9999.

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “The Safer Wolverhampton Partnership takes hate crime incredibly seriously, and all reports will be fully investigated by police.

“During Hate Crime Awareness Week, we are sending out the strong message that hate crime is not tolerated in Wolverhampton, that victims must not suffer in silence and that there are plenty of ways that local people can get involved.

“Most importantly, we would encourage anyone who has either been the victim of hate crime, or has witnessed an incident of hate crime, to speak out and get help and support.”

People can find out more about hate crime by logging on to www.stophateWV.net. For details of National Hate Crime Awareness week, please visit https://nationalhcaw.uk/.

Any organisation that is interested in becoming a Third-Party Reporting Centre – a safe neutral location within the community where people can report hate crimes or hate incidents without having to contact the police directly – are encouraged to contact Deborah Smith, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Prevent and Cohesion Officer, viadeborah.smith@wolverhampton.gov.uk.