Dorset Police urge victims of Hate Crime to report offences

Dorset Police is supporting Hate Crime Awareness Week to encourage more people to report hate offences.

'What is Hate Crime?'

Hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived, by the victim, or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s protected characteristic or perceived characteristic of disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender.

The force is implementing new training to frontline staff and investigators to make sure all offences are investigated.

Martyn Underhill, Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner, said:

“Last year, a wide range of organisations including my own signed up to the Prejudice Free Dorset charter, setting out a clear message that hate crime will not be tolerated.

“I know from speaking to victims that there can be a reluctance to report, sometimes because they don’t believe any action will be taken, and so I want to reassure everyone that these issues are taken incredibly seriously in Dorset.

“Please, if you are unfortunate enough to have experienced a hate crime or incident, make sure you report it – either to the police, or if you don’t feel comfortable doing so directly, through one of the many third party reporting centres that exist across the county, a list of which can be found on the Dorset Police website.”

But, not all reports and incidents reach the criminal threshhold.

For those occasions Dorset Police works with agencies that can support and guide victims who are still affected by someone else's actions.

You can find this support here: prejudicefreedorset.org.

Dorset Police's Hate Crime Lead, Superintendent Gavin Dudfield, said:

"If you are verbally or physically abused, or have your property damaged, or are harmed in any other way, and you perceive that the offender’s actions were motivated by your race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or your transgender identity, then professionals are available to take your report.

"You can make contact online, on the telephone (101 or 999 in an emergency), or through a trusted reporting centre."