Hate Crime Reporting
Along with many other public and voluntary service organisations in the area, Wyre Borough Council is also a 3rd party hate crime reporting centre.
Together we can stop Hate Crime and Hate Incidents
Hate crime and hate incidents are motivated by prejudice i.e. someone's perceived race, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.
The Police define Hate Crime as:
Any hate incident, which constitutes a criminal offence, perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
The Police define a Hate Incident as:
Any incident, which may or may not be a criminal offence, but which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
Hate crime can have a devastating effect on the quality of life of its victims, those who fear becoming victims and the community. Hate crime victims feel the added trauma of knowing that the perpetrator's motivation is an impersonal, group hatred, relating to some feature that they share with others. A crime that might normally have a minor impact becomes, with the hate element, a very intimate and hurtful attack that can undermine the victim's quality of life.
This impact is amplified further because hate crime is one of the most underreported categories of incident. An offender can often keep the same victim or group of victims locked in isolation and fear by keeping the extent of each attack at a level where it is unlikely to be reported.
Report It
Everyone has the right to feel protected and safe. We want all people in Wyre to feel safe in their community.
- You can report hate crime or a hate incident anonymously and without police involvement. Report it online using our Hate Crime Report Form.
- You can report hate crime or an incident without police involvement, but you can also ask to be contacted by the council's Hate Crime Worker if you require further guidance.
Report it online using our Hate Crime Report Form. - You do not have to be the victim yourself to report hate crime or a hate incident. You can report a crime you have witnessed. Report it online using our Hate Crime Report Form.
- Left unreported, the offenders are free to commit similar crimes and the victim may go unsupported. Report it online using our Hate Crime Report Form.
- Prejudice towards others is not usually confined to one single group, so offenders will also target a range of people. Report it online using our Hate Crime Report Form.
- Any information you provide may help to identify crime patterns and enable the relevant authorities to take action. Report it online using our Hate Crime Report Form.
What happens when I have made a report?
If you select 'No police involvement', the incident will be logged and added to Hate Crime statistics. Any personal information about you will be destroyed.
If you select 'Yes I would like Police involvement' and have provided your contact details, a police officer will contact you within a reasonable time period.
If you select 'No police involvement, but I would like the council's Hate Crime Worker to contact me' your contact details will be logged, but any personal information about you will be destroyed.
The law is on your side
Hate Crimes are taken very seriously in law.
Since the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, racially aggravated offences attract a higher sentence than the same offences where no aggravating factors are involved. The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 expanded the range of these offences to cover religiously aggravated offences.
Although similar aggravated offences do not exist for sexual orientation or disability, Section 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 requires the courts to consider disability or sexual orientation hostility as an aggravating factor when deciding on the sentence for the offence.
Visit the campaign website for more information and support.