Hate Crime

Hate crime and hate incidents can have a significant impact on victims' lives. They can make individuals feel isolated and excluded, and cause tension and even conflict in the wider community. Organisations across Norfolk, including the Police Authority and Norfolk Constabulary, have worked together to develop a consistent standard for tackling hate crime/incidents, so that victims can be confident in coming forward and reporting.

What is a hate crime?

A hate crime is any offence committed against a person or their property motivated by the offender's hatred of that particular person or group of people because they are seen as being different.

A victim of hate crime may be targeted because of his/her:

• age or perceived age
• cultural, ethnic, national or racial origin
• religion
• sexuality
• gender identity
• disability

Hate crime may involve persistent targeting with insults, threats or physical attacks.

What is a hate incident?

A hate incident is any incident (it may or may not be a criminal offence) which is believed by the victim or any other person to be motivated by prejudice or hate.

How can hate crime/incidents be reported?

There are a number of ways in which hate crimes/incidents can be reported.

Reporting direct to the police

In an emergency, always call 999.

If it is not an emergency, you can call 0845 456 4567, report online by filling in a form on the Norfolk Police website, or emailing a report to reporthate@norfolk.pnn.police.uk

Third-party reporting

If individuals are reluctant to contact the police directly, a number of organisations across Norfolk have had training in taking hate crime/incident reports from victims or witnesses to pass to the police on their behalf. The Members and staff of Norfolk Police Authority are one such organisation.

To report a hate crime/incident via Norfolk Police Authority, you can call 01953 424455.

Reports can be made anonymously, however by not agreeing to your personal details being passed to the police, follow-up action will be limited. Anonymous reports do, however, help contribute to building a picture of what is happening in Norfolk.

For help with coping with the effects of crime, please visit the Victim Support website ( http://www.victimsupport.org.uk/ ).

What happens to the information reported?

All information is recorded by the police. All reports can be subject to an initial investigation during which the police will make a judgement as to whether the report will be classified as a hate crime or hate incident. Hate crimes will be subject to a formal investigation and resolution following the standard procedures of the criminal justice system. Hate incidents may be passed by the police to other partners who may also be able to deal with the report.

Monitoring data about reports is collated and analysed by a multi-agency Hate Crime Group on a regular basis. This helps to identify key community issues and supports the development of further measures for tackling hate crime/incidents in Norfolk.

Hate Crime Information

1. Norfolk Multi-Agency Protocol : Tackling Hate Crime/Incidents Together (PDF) 360kb

   A code of practice which sets a consistent standard for tackling hate crime/incidents.

2. Norfolk Police Online Hate Crime Reporting Form