Hate crime | Carers of Barking & Dagenham

Hate crime

Hate crime can affect anyone. If you have been hurt or threatened because of your race, gender, sexual orientation, faith or disability – report it.

Hate crime can make you feel threatened and unsafe. It's important to report it, but we understand that going to the police can be difficult. To help people feel more able to report hate crime, we work with the police and local agencies to raise awareness, and make it easier to report.

What is hate crime?

Hate crime is an act or incident which is motivated by prejudice or hate. You might be targeted because of your:

Race (not just the colour of your skin, but also your nationality, culture or language)
Religion
Sexual orientation
Physical disability
Learning disability
Gender
Age.

You don't need to be a member of a minority or someone who would usually be considered particularly vulnerable. Anyone can be a victim of hate crime, and everyone has a right to report it.

There are two key distinctions:

A hate crime

is when somebody does something that is against the law, and you feel that they did it because of prejudice or hate.

A hate incident

is when somebody does something that you feel they did because of prejudice or hate, but it wasn't necessarily a criminal offence.

Hate can take place anywhere - at home, on the street, at work, or in schools and colleges.

It can include any kind of threatening behaviour. It doesn't have to involve a physical attack. It could be the use of threatening or abusive language, damage to your property, or graffiti.

Why should I report hate crime?

If a hate crime is reported to the police it is taken very seriously, so reporting it to them really can make a difference. However, we understand that you might not want to speak to the police. You can speak to us about it instead. We won't pass on any of your information to the police unless we legally have to, for example if a child is at risk.

If you don't want us to inform the police, there are still things we can do if you report a hate crime to us. It can help us to keep track of what's happening, and provide better services.

For more information on hate crime and how to report it, visit our hate crime web pages

Translations, posters and leaflets

We have a selection of translated information, posters and leaflets that can tell you more about hate crime.

Easy to read hate crime leaflet

Hate crime leaflet - young people

Hate crime leaflet - large print

Hate crime poster - contact numbers

Hate crime poster - horror story

Hate crime poster - mental health

Hate crime poster - words

Information Translations

Hate crime information Albanian