A hate crime or a hate incident is hatred or hostility - perceived by the victim or any other person - based on someone's race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.
Any hate crime is a crime - being different isn't. Hate crimes often go unreported - we want people to have the confidence to come forward - victims and witnesses.
Reporting makes a difference - to you, your friends and your community.
Harassment, like constantly knocking on the door or throwing eggs at windows
Bullying or intimidation by children, adults, neighbours or strangers
Physical assault, for example hitting, punching, pushing, spitting, violent words
Damage to property
Threats of violence
Upsetting online comments, for example on Facebook or Twitter
... just because of your own or someone else's
Race
Religion or belief
Sexual orientation
Gender identity
Disability
Hate Crime lead Superintendent David Minty and Police and Crime Commissioner Angus Macpherson, who chairs our multi-agency Hate Crime Group, talk about hate crime
Hate Crime or Hate Incident - what's the difference?
A Hate Crime is
Any hate crime, which constitutes a criminal offence, perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
A Hate Incident is
Any incident, which does not constitute a criminal offence, perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate.
So what are we doing about hate crime?
We are committed to investigating all crimes and incidents motivated by hate, supporting victims and bringing offenders to justice.
We have specially trained Hate Crime Advisors working across the county to support victims.
Call Wiltshire Victim Support 0808 281 0113, 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday or out of hours Victim Supportline 0808 1689 111 or go to their website
Call Crimestoppers to pass on information anonymously anytime day or night on 0800 555 111 or visit their website
Please report all hate incidents or hate crimes to us or our partner agencies to get the right advice, support and follow up visits as appropriate.
Reports made to True Vision will be securely routed to our 24 hour Crime & Communication Centre. You will receive an acknowledgement within 24 hours and we will contact you to discuss your issues in due course.
Hate crimes and incidents are targeted at a victim because of the offender's hostility or prejudice against an identifiable group of people.
Any incident or crime, which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated because of a person's disability or perceived disability, will be recorded as such.
This can be committed against a person or property.
Some things to remember:
It's wrong for anyone to have prejudice or hostility for other people
It's wrong for anyone to hurt you or make you feel unsafe
It's wrong for anyone to take or harm your things
It's wrong for anyone to treat you badly for who you are
If anyone does any of these to you because they do not like disabled people, this is a disability hate crime
Someone may have a disability if they:
Find it hard to move around - physical disability
Don't hear or see or find it hard to hear or see - sensory disability
Find it hard to learn some things - learning difficulty or disability
Do not feel well in their minds at times - mental health
How to report disability hate crime
Please contact us. We can offer you advice, support and follow up visits.
Call 101 or 999 in an emergency, or visit a police station.
The internet has changed the way we communicate. It has many positive aspects, but has also allowed hateful content to spread to a broader audience, without editorial control and often behind a veil of anonymity. You may come across a lot of material on the internet that offends you, however a small proportion of it is actually illegal.
Hate material online is recorded by police as a 'hate crime' when a crime defined in law is committed with hate motivation.
When online material is hate motivated, but does not meet the threshold for a criminal offence, it is recorded as a 'hate incident'.
Advice about staying safe on the internet at Get Safe Online here or report online hate material to the police via True Vision here.
An offence is committed where the person posts or controls the material in this country. Therefore, much material that can be viewed in the UK is outside the jurisdiction of our courts. The USA, for instance does not have offences of inciting racial hatred, but if someone inside the UK posts on a foreign site then that could still be illegal here. (The person posting is always responsible for their content and web hosts could be if they, for instance, encourage or knowingly allow it to remain)
What you can do about online hate material
Most hateful or violent website content is not illegal but you can still take the steps below to have it removed if it upsets, scares or offends you.
1. Report online hate material to the police
If you perceive some online material is motivated by hate and you think it originates in the UK:
Most websites have rules known as 'acceptable use policies' that set out what cannot be put on their website. Most do not allow comments, videos and photos that offend or hurt people. Platforms such as Facebook, YouTube or BBC News have simple ways for you to complain about a page or video.
If what you've seen is on a site with a good complaints system, you should report it to the website's owners. Look out for their 'contact us' page, which should be clearly linked.
Others will have a 'report this page' button that you can click.
3. Report it to the hosting company
If the website itself is hateful or supports violence, let the website's hosting company know.
You can find out which company hosts a website by entering their web address on the 'Who is hosting this?' website.
