Hate Crime

Everyone deserves to live free of fear and abuse. We want you to help us reach that goal and act against those who commit a hate crime. Read more about what a hate crime is and how to report one. This will help agencies to better understand the problem and how to prevent hate crimes.

What is hate crime?

A hate crime or incident takes place when someone is targeted because of their:

• religion or belief
• race or ethnic identity
• transgender identity
• disability
• sexual orientation

It counts as a hate crime when someone breaks the law. The police also record all hate incidents, even when no law has been broken. What matters is why you think you have been targeted.

Examples of hate crimes or incidents

• Assault:
• including pushing
• spitting
• pulling at clothes
• Threats, verbal abuse and abusive gestures
• Damage to property
• Offensive letters and graffiti
• Online abuse
• Harassment

There might be a single incident or a series of incidents. It doesn’t matter where an incident takes place, it can still count as a hate crime.

Report hate crime

We strongly encourage you to report any incident to the police as soon as possible. You can help tackle criminal behaviour and make the community safer.

• Call 999 in an emergency:
  • when the offender is still in the area
  • someone has been injured
  • if there is a risk to life
  • Report hate crime | Devon & Cornwall Police (devon-cornwall.police.uk)
  • Call 101 to make a non-emergency report to the police
    • To report anonymously:
      • call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
      • or fill in the Crimestoppers online form

Why you should report a hate crime

We know that many hate crimes and incidents are not reported. If more people report hate crime, we can:

• gain a better understanding of the problem
• prevent it from happening again

Reporting it means that you can access the appropriate support. This will help you recover from the experience.

Reporting it is also the first step towards catching the offender. It will hopefully stop them from committing a crime again.

If you witness a hate crime or incident, you can still report it.

Report illegal or harmful online material

You can report illegal or harmful online material to the police. You can also report it to the specific website administrator. Remember to take a screenshot before you report it.

Support for you

Experiencing hate crime can be a particularly frightening experience. This is because you have been targeted because of who you are, or who, or what, your attacker thinks you are. You may need support to help you cope with what’s happened. This may be from a specialist organisation, counsellor or a local community group.

Devon and Cornwall - Victim Support

Victim Support is an independent charity. They help people cope with the effects of crime. They can help anyone affected by crime. Not only those who experience it directly, but also:

• friends
• family
• any other people involved

It doesn’t matter when the crime took place, or whether you’ve reported it to the police.