A hate incident is any kind of behaviour that causes fear, alarm or distress where the victim or anyone else feels that they have been targeted because of their racial heritage, religion or beliefs, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation. If a criminal offence has been committed a hate incident becomes a hate crime.
This can mean threats, damage to property, verbal abuse, offensive graffiti, harassment and violence. It may be targeted at one person or at a group of people.
“ I was going to the shop in my wheelchair when a group of people spat at me and called me names, this hurt my feelings.”
“ I was on Facebook when I saw racist comments on a friend’s page and this offended me.”
“ I was at a nightclub when someone hit me and shouted verbal abuse about the colour of my skin.”
“ I saw an adoption poster covered in graffiti saying horrible things about same sex couples adopting children.”
Hate crime in any form is wrong but if it goes unchallenged, it will continue to happen. That is why it is important that if you experience, see or know about hate crime in your community, you should report it. We all need to say NO to hate.
How can you tell us about it?
There are lots of ways that you can tell us about it. You don’t have to give your personal details if you don’t want to or provide any evidence. By reporting a hate incident when it happens, you can help us to stop it happening again and we can ask you about any support that you or they may need.
We encourage you to tell person affected the police, but you can also go to one of our reporting centres. We have five reporting centres in Cornwall, where you can talk to trained staff about your experiences and they can give you help and support. They can also help you make a report to the police or any other organisation if you wish to or make a report on your behalf (this is called third party reporting).
If you have seen it, experienced it, know about it or need help, tell us about it using any of the contacts provided on this website.
TravellerSpace is one of the five organisations in Cornwall designated as third party reporting centres. We aim to overcome reporting barriers for people who may be reluctant to contact the police directly. It enables anyone who experiences or witnesses a hate incident to report it to a third party organisation who will communicate with the police and other agencies on their behalf. It also means that an initial assessment of risk can be made and that you or anyone else affected by the incident can access any support that you need. By making a report to the police, they can also make a decision about whether a crime has been committed (only the police can do this).
The reporting of hate incidents is important and encouraged but support is offered whether you choose to report or not.
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