Hate Crime
A hate crime incident is any incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by prejudice against someone's sex, racial heritage, religion, disability or sexual orientation. It can include grafitti, offensive mail, assault, verbal abuse or offensive literature.
How is hate crime being tackled?
Harassment is a criminal offence and there are also specific laws against racially motivated violence, abuse and harassment.
As part of the Coventry Community Safety Partnership's commitment to tackling hate crime, the City Council employs a Hate Crime Reduction Officer who is working towards increasing awareness of racial, religion and homophobic harassment and encouraging victims to report it.
What should you do if you suffer hate crime?
All crimes can be reported to the Police by visiting you local Police Station in person or by calling 0845 1135000.
If you are reporting an emergency - telephone 999 and ask for the Police.
The City Council has established a number of non-police Hate Crime Reporting Centres where victims, or witnesses, to any incident of hate crime can report it in confidence. Staff at each centre have been trained to deal with reports. All reported incidents – with the consent of the victims – are discussed by the Coventry Anti-Harassment Forum that aims to support the victim, stop any ongoing harassment and deal with the perpetrators.
A current list of hate crime reporting centres is available at the bottom of this page.
