Q139: I think I have been a victim of a hate crime / hate incident, what can I and the police do?

If you have encountered an incident which was motivated by who you are or who someone thinks you are, you may have been a victim of a hate incident or hate crime.

For example, a person is beaten up and whilst being attacked the offender makes offensive comments about the person's believed race or ethnicity / sexual orientation / religion or belief / disability or transgender identity.

Please see Q643 for further information on what is a hate crime / hate incident.

Police take reports of these incidents very seriously and if you feel you have been the victim of a hate crime / incident you should report the matter to your local police force. Reports can also be made online via www.report-it.org.uk who in turn report it to the police on your behalf, should you not wish to report it directly.

Specific legislation is in place that caters for such incidents and the courts have the ability to enforce higher penalties to offenders who carry out hate crimes.

For more information please see the websites in the related information section. There is also a link to the 'Help for Victims' website and a YouTube video guide to the website.