Hate hurts. Report it and put a stop to it.

Date published: 05 August 2020 13:02

Hate can be any incident or crime, motivated by prejudice or hostility (or perceived to be so) against a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability. It includes:

A criminal offence where the law is broken is a hate crime
An incident that is not a criminal offence is a hate incident

'Hate' can cause a range of emotional responses, including fear, anger and shock. People experience mental and physical well-being issues such as problems sleeping, depression, anxiety and paranoia. Hate hurts and no-one should have to tolerate it.

What is hate crime?

Hate crime is any criminal offence which is motivated by prejudice or hostility (or perceived to be so) against a person’s:

Race – nationality, ethnicity, skin colour and heritage
Religion – faith, belief, non-religious belief
Disability – physical, hearing and visual impairments, mental ill health and learning disabilities
Sexual orientation - people who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or heterosexual
Gender identity - people who identify as ‘trans’ including transgender or transsexual people

It can include things like:

Physical assault
Damage to property
Offensive graffiti
Arson
Inciting hatred online

Here’s Superintendent Sarah Poolman, the hate crime lead, detailing our commitment to tackling the problem.

Our Strategy

You can find out more about our commitment to tackling hate crime in our strategy here.

CPS Yorkshire and Humberside Hate Crime sentence uplift examples

Under hate crime legislation the courts must pass increased sentences where prosecutors evidence that offences have been motivated by hostility towards a person’s race, religion, disability, transgender identity or sexuality. See examples from Yorkshire and the Humberside here.

What is a hate incident?

The Police can only prosecute when the law is broken, but we also want to know about non-crime hate incidents. These incidents may not be criminal offences but often can feel like a crime to those affected, and can sometimes escalate to crimes, therefore, we work with partners to try and prevent this from happening. Hate incidents can include things such as offensive or insulting comments, online, in person or in writing.

Click here for more information on how CPS prosecutes hate crimes.

We are committed to tackling hate, no matter what form it comes in. We will deal with your report professionally and with consideration to your needs and wishes. No-one should have to live with fear, anxiety and consequences of hate.

Put a stop to it

Even if you are unsure whether what you have experienced or witnessed was a crime, by reporting the incident, it enables us to support the victim, deal with it appropriately, work with our partners to better understand hate crime and ultimately, stop others becoming victims.

Report it

Call 101 or in an emergency call 999.

You can also report Hate online, click here for the form.

As well as the police you can also report hate to other agencies if you prefer. Please bear in mind this information will be passed on to enable us to investigate.

True Vision

Reporting centres in Barnsley

Reporting centres in Doncaster

Reporting centres in Rotherham

Reporting centres in Sheffield

Crimestoppers – Report anonymously on 0800 555 111. Anonymous reports will be passed to police; however, an investigation may be limited where reports are anonymous.

Resources

Hate Crime leaflets, click to download: