Sussex Hate Crime Project

What is Hate Crime?

A Hate Crime can be any crime that is perceived by the victim, or a witness, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards an aspect of the victim's identity.

For the purposes of reporting, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) defines hate incidents and crimes in the following way: 

Hate Incident: "Any non-crime incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any non-crime incident motivated by a hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender" 

Hate Crime"Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by a hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.". 

Examples of hate crimes and incidents

If a crime or incident is perceived to be motivated by prejudice or hostility, it is considered to be a hate crime or incident. As such, there are many types of incidents which are categorised as hate crimes or hate incidents. If any of the following examples are perceived to be perpetrated because of a prejudice or hostility towards an aspect of the victim's identity, they are considered a hate crime or hate incident.

  • Antisocial behaviour (ASB)
  • Verbal abuse 
  • Spitting 
  • Abusive gestures 
  • Threats 
  • Vandalism and property damage 
  • Graffiti 
  • Cyberbullying and online hate e.g., abuse on Facebook and Twitter 
  • Malicious communications, e.g. letters, leaflets, email
  • Intimidation 
  • Harassment
  • Assault 
  • Theft
  • Sexual assault and rape 
  • Arson 
  • Murder 

 


How to report a hate crime

As a victim or witness to a hate crime or incident, you can report your experiences in a variety of ways.

If you're reporting a crime that’s in progress or if someone is in immediate danger, please call 999 and the police will respond immediately.

If the crime isn't an emergency, please call 101 or contact your local police station.

Alternatively, if you do not wish to contact the police directly, you can report hate crimes and incidents online via True Vision.

 

Support for victims of hate crimes

There are many organisations that can help victims of hate crimes. Here are a selection of them:-

Victim Support: 0845 30 30 900, supportline@victimsupport.org.uk

Tell MAMA (Muslim organisation)  0800 456 1226,  info@tellmamauk.org

Stonewall (LGBT organisation): 08000 502020,  info@stonewall.org.uk

 

The Report

The Sussex Hate Crime Project Report provides an overview of the studies, results, and conclusions of the project.