Community cohesion and hate crime

Hate crimes and hate related incidents

The term 'hate crime' can be used to describe a range of criminal behaviour which is motivated by hostility or demonstrates hostility towards the victim's protected characteristic. This means that there is no one type of offence which constitutes a hate crime but it can include:

• Threatening a person
• Touching or assaulting a person
• Offensive language
• Isolation from social events or activities
• Offensive graffiti
• Hate mail and offensive symbols
• Harassment, bullying and victimisation 
• In cases where the victim is vulnerable the perpetrator can also be a friend, carer or acquaintance who exploits their relationship for financial gain or some other criminal purpose

Protected characteristics are aspects of a person's identity, this means if you are targeted or harassed because of your actual or perceived protected characteristic then you may be a victims of hate crime.  There are five protected characteristics which are included by the crown prosecution service as being hate related, these include;

• Disability: When a person is victimised because of their disability or perceived disability, whether mental or physical – this is a hate crime.
• Race or ethnicity: When a person commits a crime against someone because of the colour of their skin, their nationality or ethnic background, their accent or use of a different language - this is a hate crime.
• Religion or belief: regardless of your faith or religion if you are targeted because of your belief, which includes non-belief, this is a hate crime
• Sexual orientation: When someone is victimised because of their sexuality, because they are (or they are perceived to be) gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual - this is a hate crime.
• Gender identity: When someone targets someone who is gender fluid or transgender then this is a hate crime

Reporting hate crime

We rely on members of the public to report crimes to the Police and Victim Support, to provide information to help us tackle crime.

Gwent Police can take action to ensure you are protected if you are intimidated as a result of reporting a crime. Witness care officers can put you in touch with organisations that can support you.

The Crown Prosecution Service has designated hate crime prosecutors who are specialists in these types of offences.

If you have experienced any of these issues, you can contact Victim Support on 0300 30 31 982 (free of charge) 24 hours a day, seven days a week to report the incident anonymously or confidentially and to access support, or you can visit their website at www.reporthate.victimsupport.org.uk for more information.

Support includes Emotional Support, Advocacy, Practical Support, Personal and Home Security and Restorative Justice Facilitation.

In an emergency of course, you should ring the Police on 999 or for non-emergency issues you can ring 101.

Hate crime and incident mapping report

Working with partners, we mapped hate crime and hate incidents within the county borough with the intention of establishing a better picture of the situation to help develop appropriate interventions and support for victims.

The report revealed evidence that between January 2012 and January 2013 there were 144 reports of hate crime and hate incidents in the borough, and provides an insight into the nature of these cases.

The report concludes with recommendations for further action.