A MIDLANDS social landlord is joining forces with the police and other agencies to tackle hate crime.
Platform Housing Group – which is a member of the South Worcestershire Hate Crime Forum – will work in partnership with West Mercia Police as part of its support of Hate Crime Awareness Week.
The national scheme, which runs until Saturday (October 17) this year – takes place annually, providing an opportunity to raise awareness of what hate crime is and stand by those affected by it.
The local agencies involved will run an online campaign during the week to highlight hate crime perpetrated online.
Tom Piotrowski, diversity and inclusion advisor at Platform Housing Group said: “As a large social housing provider in the county, it is important we play our part in such important schemes.
“And with the numbers of reported hate crime remaining high, it continues to be a priority to challenge and stamp out hate crime in our communities. We are hoping the online campaign – which includes hard hitting videos – will reach a wide audience with the message that we have a zero tolerance approach towards all forms of prejudice and hate crime.”
National Hate Crime Awareness Week encourages people to consider how they respond to hate crime; hate crime includes any criminal offence targeted at someone which is fuelled by hostility or prejudice related to an individual’s disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
Since April 1, 232 hate crimes of all types were reported in South Worcestershire, compared to 245 for the same period in the previous year.
Supt Jim Baker from West Mercia Police said: “We are aware that for every reported hate crime there is an unknown number of unreported hate crimes so the key message from us is, if in doubt or if you think you may have been a hate crime victim, report it.”
Call 07805 812708 or e-mail [email protected] for more.
