Ensuring people can live and work without fear of being a target of hate crime is the cornerstone of a new Cleveland Police Hate Crime Charter.
The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland and Cleveland Police co-produced the charter for victims of hate crime, using feedback from the Cleveland Strategic Hate Crime Partnership.
The charter is based on three principles:
- What is considered a hate crime
- How to report incidents of hate crime
- What to expect once a report of a hate crime has been made
It sets out the force’s promise to ensure all reports of hate crime will be taken seriously and to improve confidence in the service delivered by the police.
To help inform the charter, discussions were undertaken with local diverse groups who represent the views and support individuals with protected characteristics including, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.
It is hoped that by providing a guide on what to expect after reporting hate crime, victims may feel more comfortable reporting crimes, whilst providing knowledge of the investigation and criminal process and information around support available, will ease any reticence to come forward and improve confidence in the police to investigate hate crime.
Victim voices heard
Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matt Storey, who has chaired the Cleveland Strategic Hate Crime Partnership since 2024, said: “Engaging with victims of hate crime in our communities has been incredibly important. It is vital that we aren’t just broadcasting, but allowing people to have their voice and their concerns heard.
“I know that communities want that reassurance so that when they report a hate crime incident to the police it will be taken seriously, so I am pleased to have developed this charter that clearly sets out Cleveland Police’s commitments on how they will achieve this.”
Cleveland Police Supt Emily Harrison, the force’s lead on hate crime, added: “Nobody should be subjected to threatening or abusive behaviour because of their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability. Sadly, many people in our communities are targeted simply because of who they are or what believe in. Any form of hate crime is completely unacceptable and simply will not be tolerated.
“Hate crime in Cleveland did show an unprecedented rise during late summer last year, over the period of disorder in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool in August 2024, and there is a clear spike in our figures at that time.
“Outside of those reports linked directly to the disorder, reports of hate crime remain consistent with the numbers we received before, with no real increase in racially motivated offences and crimes. In fact, our twelve-month data shows a reduction of 13.2% for all hate crime and a 24.9% reduction for victim-based hate crime.
“Whilst we welcome any reduction, it’s more important for us that victims of hate feel that they can come forward and report what is happening to them. Over many years, we have built strong links with our diverse communities in Cleveland by engaging well and listening to concerns. We need to keep building on this to ensure that anyone who has experienced hate feels that they can report this to us and can trust us to deal with these crimes robustly.
“I hope that the pledge set out in the charter, and knowledge of the processes involved in the investigation of hate crime, can offer some reassurance to victims. We understand the impact that crime motivated by hate can have on people and that this can be a lonely and frightening time, so I’d like to reassure anyone who has been subject to hate crime that we will support them every step of the way.”
If you or anyone you know has been impacted by hate crime you can receive free and confidential support, regardless of whether you have reported the incident, by contacting VCAS on 0303 040 1099, [email protected] or www.vcas.uk
Read the new Hate Crime Charter here