THIS week is Hate Crime Awareness Week (14th – 21st October). South Wales Police are encouraging anyone who has been subject to someone else’s violence, ignorance, or prejudice to report it.
Someone could be victim of a hate incident in a number of different ways, including physical assault, verbal abuse, online bullying or harassment, and in many other criminal offences. A hate incident becomes a hate crime when a criminal offence has been committed because of hostility of prejudice on your disability, race, religion, transgender identity, or sexual orientation.
This year to date, the force has received 2,214 reports of hate crime. We have seen a slight reduction in the number of hate crimes reported to South Wales Police in the past 12 months, which means it is more important than ever that we emphasise the need to report hate crimes when they happen.
The rise, driven by religious or transgender motivated crimes also shows that our communities have more confidence in coming forward and talking to us. We encourage anyone who has concerns of hate crime to come forward and report it, to stop the ongoing challenges around hate crime.
Our team of dedicated hate crime officers will be out and about in our communities this week at different engagements in the area to encourage reporting and raise awareness of hate crime. Take a look at our social media accounts for details on where you can speak with them.
Superintendent Jason Rees, Force Lead for Hate Crime, said: “Hate crime is a priority for me and all of us at South Wales. It is an abhorrent form of criminality which causes harm to individuals, families, and wider communities. We work hard to robustly target offenders who commit hate crime and with the support of partner agencies, we work hard to provide the necessary support to safeguard and reassure victims.
“During Hate Crime Awareness Week, it is important to remind everyone of the importance of reporting hate crime. It is important that if you are a victim of hate crime you contact us so we can seek to tackle this criminality head on and provide you with the appropriate support.
“I would also encourage people who witness hate crime within their communities to also report matters so we can be proactive in dealing with this offending at the earliest opportunity.”
To find out more about hate crime and how to report, visit: Hate crime | South Wales Police (south-wales.police.uk)
#NoPlaceForHate #KeepingSouthWalesSafe
