East Riding of Yorkshire Council and Humberside Police are stepping up their efforts to tackle the issue of hate crime and ensure that the East Riding continues to remain a safe place for all.
With National Hate Crime Awareness Week taking place from Saturday, 14 to Saturday, 21 October, the council is keen to increase public knowledge of hate crime, to encourage people to report hate crimes and to empower communities to work together to prevent ‘hate’.
A hate crime is when a person is targeted because of who they are. Any crimes, physical or verbal attacks committed against someone because of their disability, gender-identity, race, religion, beliefs or sexual orientation are hate crimes and should be reported.
The council recently organised a training session, the first in a series, for its elected members at County Hall, in Beverley, to ensure they are able to offer any necessary support. The training session was delivered by Humberside Police.
Councillor Shaun Horton, cabinet portfolio holder for community involvement and council corporate services, said:
“There is no place for hate crime in East Riding. As elected members it is important that we champion equality and encourage residents to contact us if they have any concerns.
“The council takes hate crime very seriously and is working closely with the police and with its neighbouring authorities to stamp it out. Remember – being you is not a crime, but targeting you is.”
PC Stephen Jones of Humberside Police said:
“Let me be clear, we will not tolerate hate crime in Humberside. We treat these incidents very seriously and would urge victims not to suffer in silence, but to come forward and speak to us. As well as thoroughly investigating all hate crimes, there are a range of measures we can put in place to provide support and reassurance to the victims of such hate-related crimes and incidents.”
For further information about hate crime or to report an incident, visit www.humberside.police.uk/issues/hate-crime
Alternatively, you can call Humberside Police on 101 or 999 – if it is an emergency.
