Stop The Hate

A new 'Stop LGB & T' hate crime helpline has been welcomed by Ron Hogg, Durham Police and Crime Commissioner, to support victims in County Durham and Darlington.

The charity Stop Hate UK recently received funding from the Equality and Human Rights Commission to provide a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender 24 hour Hate Crime helpline service across England, Wales, and Scotland.

The national helpline 0808 801 0661, provides a range of services including immediate emotional assistance, help for victims to report a crime or incident to the police, follow-up support as well referrals and links with other local agencies.

Reducing the impact of hate crime is one of the key areas that Ron is focusing on in his Police and Crime Plan 2015-17 and he is working closely with partner organisations, including the voluntary and community sector, councils and the police. He said:

"The** launch of this helpline is a massive step forward for anyone locally who wants to report a LGB or T hate crime or incident, regardless of whether they area a victim or a witness. It will provide individuals with more choice and additional support from expert advisors.

We take hate crimes and incidents very seriously and I hope that the launch of this new service will encourage more victims to come forward, either to the police directly, or by calling the helpline."

Emma Roebuck, Chief Officer at Gay Advice Darlington Durham said:

"Any resource that improves the ability to report hate crime of any kind is a positive. Homophobic Biphobic and Transphobic hate crime is amongst the most difficult to report directly to the criminal justice agencies.

I hope this can be added to the tool kit that will improve hate crime, its reporting and an increase in convictions."