New hub opened to help LGBTQ+ community report hate crime in Birmingham
It's at the Loft in the Gay Village
A new hate crime hub in Birmingham has been hailed a move in the right direction for keeping the LGBTQ+ community safe.
In their latest bid to target offenders, local officers and partners who work with businesses in Birmingham's Gay Village have created a safe place where people can report violence, intimidation and abuse anonymously.
Last year - nearly 2000 reports of hate crime - regarding sexuality or being transgender were made to the West Midlands Police.
The Loft on Bromsgrove Street is the latest venue in a growing network of third party reporting centres, where crimes motivated by the offender’s hatred of people because of their gender, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation can be logged and passed to officers to investigate.
PC Fiona Dickenson, from the city centre policing team, said:
"Tackling hate crimes is a priority for West Midlands Police. We’d encourage victims not to suffer in silence and to speak out by reporting offences big or small.
"While we’d prefer victims to come to us directly, experience tells us that for a variety of reasons, some people do not want to speak with officers preferring to report crimes anonymously or not at all.
"The danger of not reporting crimes is that if unreported we can’t tackle the issue and, if unchallenged, experience shows that offending can rapidly escalate from minor anti-social behaviour to more serious violent incidents."
As part of the extensive accreditation process, staff and volunteers have undertaken a comprehensive training programme.
Eva Echo, from Birmingham Pride, who has worked with West Midlands Police to set up the centre at The Loft said:
“With LGBTQ+ hate crime on the increase, year on year, it’s vital we do all we can to facilitate the reporting of hate crime - especially as it’s well-known that LGBTQ+ hate crime is often underreported.
"We acknowledge that some within the community have a historic mistrust of the police and criminal justice system but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have access to reporting or support.
"At The Loft, anybody reporting hate crime can do so discreetly, in a safe environment. Guided by trained members of staff, victims of hate crime will now have a dedicated point of contact and be able to provide valuable feedback, both through reporting and observations.
"This hub is part of a wider piece of work to stamp out hate crime, whilst increasing trust between the community and the Police by working with and listening to one another to create lasting change.”