Member Helpline

Hate Crime and Housing Toolkit

Welcome to Tai Pawb toolkit on hate crime, hate incidents and housing. Social housing organisations have an important role to play in tackling hate crime and this toolkit has been designed to help them achieve this goal. 

Hate Crime Policy Checklist

It is good practice for all housing organisations to develop hate crime policies.  The below policy checklist which can assist organisations in developing their policies. The checklist is also available for download here. The toolkit that follows provides guidance on each checklist element.

 

The toolkit

You can use any of the below videos to promote awareness of hate crime. Consider:

  • Playing one of the videos in a team meeting and discussing your role in preventing hate crime, tackling it and suporting victims
  • Promoting the videos on your socials, website and via mailers

 

Suggested videos

 

Member Case Studies

POBL GROUP: MAINSTREAMING AWARENESS THROUGH HATE CRIME CHARTER

Following a member Helpline request, Tai Pawb put POBL in contact with Victim Support Cymru (VSC). After gaining a better understanding of what Victim Support Cymru did and how they could support their teams and customers when working with people experiencing hate crime, POBL invited VSC to a POBL Knowledge Showcase session for POBL staff.  This was a really useful session and provided POBL teams with more tools to help them when they are supporting people who are experiencing hate crime.

POBL have recently signed up to the Victim Support Cymru Hate Crime Charter and are now working with VSC to secure the trust mark. POBL are also developing some toolbox talks for maintenance teams which will focus on educating teams on how to recognise possible red flags and signs of hate crime when they are working out in communities and in customers’ homes and what they should do if they suspect someone may be a victim of hate crime.  In the future, this training will be extended to POBL’s customer services teams.

 

In Hate Crime Awareness week, POBL produced information about hate crime each day on their internal platform for colleagues to see.  POBL are determined to keep developing what they have put in place and what they do to tackle hate crime and support people who are experiencing hate crime, through this.

POBL are also looking at the Zoteria app to see if this would benefit colleagues and customers.  The app has been developed by the Vodafone Foundation in partnership with Stonewall and Galop, Zoteria has been designed to tackle hate incidents against our community. The app also provides information on upcoming events, offers advice and support around a number of areas such as housing, mental health and sexual health.  POBL will shortly be looking at getting this rolled out to colleagues across POBL.

If you want to find out more, then contact info@taipawb.org

NEWYDD: WORKING WITH TENANTS TO TACKLE HATE CRIME

Newydd have launched a new hate crime/incident handling satisfaction form for monitoring purposes. Newydd’s Tenant Influencers are offered the hate crime related training available to staff.

Newydd’s Equality And Diversity Subgroup (NEADS) which is made up of a mix of tenants and staff, focuses on equality matters and have co-produced a number of charters.  Newydd’s former Tenant Scrutiny Group, now Lead Tenant Influencers, held a Tenant Conference on  Equality, Diversity and Inclusion using Facebook which included information and lived experience examples about hate crime and hate incidents.

Newydd also have a planned programme of communications to both staff and tenants to raise awareness about Hate crime throughout the year.

CAERPHILLY COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL: ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE IN TACKLING HATE CRIME

Caerphilly council have engaged with young people through their youth services team and are currently designing a consequences of crime accredited course to deliver to young people. Caerphilly’s Targeted Outreach Project worked with Victim Support Cymru to create a hate crime booklet which is offered out to all the young people they engage with. They also have discussions with young people whilst out on detached outreach.

In the past, to raise awareness of hate crime week Caerphilly have provided sessions to young people on; the impact ASB can have on residents and the local community, the impact ASB has on young people, where young people can go for help if they are a victim of ASB and how to report ASB.

MERTHYR TYDFIL HOUSING ASSOCIATION: INCREASING AWARENESS VIA WEBSITE

As well as a planned programme of social media and communication to tenants and staff about Hate crime, MTHA have Hate Crime leaflets useful information on reporting in different languages on their website.

FIRST CHOICE HOUSING: HATE CRIME AWARENESS WEEK – RAISING AWARENESS AMONGST STAFF AND TENANTS

First Choice have ensured that all of their staff have completed e-learning on hate crime and a Hate Crime Awareness leaflet was shared on their website as part of a blog and publicised on social media. During Hate Crime Awareness Week, this leaflet was sent to all of FCHA’s properties, and an online Tenant Panel was held, for tenants and support staff, to raise further awareness.

 

CADWYN: IMPROVING RECORDING AND PARTNERSHIP WORKING

Cadwyn have undertaken a number of actions, to make sure that their response to Hate Crime reflects good practice and up-to-date approaches. This work includes;  reviewing their policy and procedures, reporting hate crime in a separate category on their internal ASB/Tenancy Management database, providing specific training on Hate Crime and Unconscious Bias, including standard training sessions such as EDI, Race Equality, ARWAP etc, building partnerships with specialist advocates across the City, including:

  • Race Equality First – hate crime advocacy & empowerment project. This is a service provided by Victim Support. The project supports and speaks on behalf of victims of hate crimes or incidents living within the Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
  • South Wales local Policy Community Support Officers (PCSO’s) and Cardiff Hate Crime Officer. Every crime is different so every investigation is different, but any investigation starts with the same steps to make sure the Police have all the information they need. They will look at the information provided and decide if they can investigate your report further. We’ll assign an investigating officer to you. They’ll be your contact during the investigation, answering your questions and keeping you updated.
  • Attendance at Cardiff Quality of Life meetings. Different providers across the City work in a collaborative style with health, local authority and South Wales Police addressing community concerns through a resolution lens.
  • Cardiff Community Mental Health Team. They provide adult mental health services to people living across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan To ensure that appropriate support services are accessible and available in a timely manner and lastly
  • Injunctions: becoming more familiar with Injunctions to influence behaviour with consequence.

Hate crime is most likely to happen in or around victim’s home

The biggest study of hate crime in Wales shows that hate crime is almost always most likely to happen in and around people’s homes.

It also identifies both social and private tenants as one of the most vulnerable groups in terms of impacts and effects of experiencing hate crime (Race Equality First and Cardiff University, 2013).

This highlights the special importance and role of social housing organisations in tackling and preventing hate crime as well as being able to support victims.

The scale of hate crime

According to the Home Office in 2021/22, 6,295 hate crimes were reported to the police in Wales. This is a 35% increase in reported crimes, compared to the previous year. In over half of these crimes the perpetrator was motivated by prejudice/hostility towards the race/ethnicity of the victim.

  • 9 out of 10 people with Learning Disability have experienced abuse and harassment (Mencap (2000) Living in Fear Report)
  • 1 in 5 gay people have been the victim of one or more homophobic hate crimes in the last three years; 1 in 3 people alter their behaviour to disguise their identity (Stonewall (2008) ‘Gay British Crime Survey)
  • 81% of Trans respondents to a survey from Galop had experienced a transphobic hate crime (Galop (2020) ‘Trans Hate Crime Report’)
  • 59% of respondents to a survey from Race Equality First have experienced racism or racist hate crime in their lifetime (Race Equality First (2009) ‘Race Hate Crime in Cardiff Report’)

 

Impacts of Hate Crime are More Serious than Other Crime

Home Office: Crime Survey for England and Wales by the Sussex Hate Crime Project in 2018 showed that in comparison with the effects of non-hate related crime:

  • Hate crime has a stronger effect on victims: 36% of hate crime victims stated they were “very much” affected compared with just 13% for non-hate crime victims.
  • Hate crime has a stronger emotional impact: The victims of hate crime are more likely than victims of non-hate crime to say they have been emotionally affected by an incident
  • Experiencing hate crime reduces your confidence: Twice as many hate crime victims suffer loss of confidence or feelings of vulnerability after the incident, compared with victims of non-hate crime (39% vs. 17%).
  • Experiencing hate crime has a greater impact on overall wellbeing: Hate crime victims were also more than twice as likely to experience fear, difficulty sleeping, anxiety/panic attacks or depression compared with victims of non-hate related crime.
  • Hate crime victims are more likely to experience psychological harm: Overall, this equates to being 4 times more likely to experience psychological harm.

What is a hate incident?

Hate incident is any incident, which is perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hostility towards specific personal characteristics. A hate incident may or may not constitute a criminal offence.  Specific characteristics protected are:

  • Disability
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Sexual orientation
  • Transgender identity

If a victim or witness first reports a hate act to police, it will be flagged on police systems as a ‘hate incident’. For police forces, this triggers a hate crime investigation process/procedure.

REMEMBER: This means that any incident which is perceived by anyone to be hate related is classed as hate incident – whether it has been proven by the police or not. All hate incidents should be recorded as such by the police. Hate incidents should also be recorded as such by housing organisations. Some incidences may seem minor but as a repeated pattern can have a
significant impact. It is therefore important to report and record all incidences so that a potential pattern of behaviour can be established, monitored and challenged.

What is hate crime?

Hate crime should the hate incident(s) be an infringement of the law it is then determined a hate crime, and this gives police increased powers to prosecute. Hate crime is any criminal offence where the perpetrator is motivated by hostility or demonstrates hostility towards the above characteristics.

What is ‘mate crime’?

“Mate crime” means befriending vulnerable people to take advantage of them, exploit or abuse them. It is regarded as a form of disability hate crime but can also resemble cases of domestic abuse or violence. Victims of mate crime are often vulnerable due to learning disabilities, mental health problems or illness, or age (targeting vulnerable older or younger people).

More often than not, mate crime victims will not be aware that they are a victim of crime. However, victims will generally report high levels of fear. Victims often are:

  • Socially isolated and have a strong desire for friendship
  • Receiving low level or lack of support from agencies.
  • Showing no definable impairments.

Perpetrators often

  • Use high levels of threats to control the victim
  • Falsely accuse victims of sexual misconduct (e.g. of being a paedophile)
  • Are ‘friends’, carers, acquaintances or neighbours and victims may be reluctant to sever the relationship.

Hate crime vs. ASB

Hate or prejudice can be elements of an anti-social behaviour incident. For example: an incident may start as noise nuisance but at some point, racist or disablist language may be used. This escalates into hate graffiti and results in physical violence motivated by hate. As outline in previous section, hate incidents or crimes can have much more serious impact on the victim therefore it is important to identify and respond to them according to organisation’s hate crime policy, rather than treat it as more general ASB.

Remember: Any ASB report which has elements of prejudice or hate should be recorded as hate incident and dealt with in line with the organisation’s hate crime policy. Example: Coastal Housing adds special ‘flags’ to ASB incidents which are hate related to enable monitoring, tracking and appropriate response and support. 

 

Hate crime legislation is separate to equality and discrimination legislation. There are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 which are currently not protected by hate crime legislation.  These are: Age, Pregnancy & Maternity, Marriage/Civil Partnership and Sex.

Any crime can be prosecuted as a hate crime if the offender has either:

  • demonstrated hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity OR
  • been motivated by hostility based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity

Someone can be a victim of more than one type of hate crime.

In England and Wales there is no single piece of Hate Crime legislation. It is incorporated into different Acts:

  • Public Order Act 1986
  • Crime and Disorder Act 1998
  • Football (Offences) Act 1991
  • Malicious communications legislation
  • Sentencing Code

Hate crime and hate speech laws are complex, with overlapping laws. Hate Crime related to race/ethnicity and religion/belief are considered the most serious and are subject to strengthened laws in comparison with disability, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

Under the Crime and Disorder Act and Section 66 of the Sentencing Act 2020 referenced above, prosecutors can apply for an uplift in sentence for those convicted of hate crime. Sentence uplifts can include up to 20% increase in custodial sentences and fines.

We all have a role to play in preventing, identifying, recording, and reporting hate crime and every organisation should ask themselves these key questions about their own hate crime related processes, role expectations and staff training.

Customer Facing Staff

Are the responsibilities of customer facing staff roles clearly outlined in terms of dealing with hate crime and do staff receive training about hate crime?

 

Managers

Managers and lead officers need to know what their responsibilities are in terms of dealing with hate crime, as well as staff in key linked departments including:

 

Allocations

Allocations: Allocations should be based on informed choice in relation to the area. Where organisations know that there is a history of hate related incidents in the property considered for allocation, it is important to make aware the potential residents from diverse groups affected. Additionally, is your allocations team aware of how to take account of applicants’ potential history of victimisation, vulnerability, or history of perpetration? Do you share some of this information with the allocations team in a way that does not contravene the data protection regulations and other legislation?

 

Tenancy Support

Do you require staff to have received basic hate crime training?

 

Repairs and Maintenance

An individual may need similar repairs repeatedly (e.g., broken windows) or there could be a pattern in a particular neighbourhood of people with protected characteristics reporting similar types of repairs. Repairs staff and contractors could be trained to recognise patterns and report them.

 

Finance/Arrears

Rent arrears could be caused by financial abuse caused by mate crime or higher personal expenditure on repairing damaged goods, like vehicles. Do your staff know how to identify the financial signs of hate or mate crime? Do they know when and how they can report it and whether they need a victim’s consent or not?

 

Community development

Actively plan community cohesion projects in tension areas where hate incidents and crimes have been reported and make sure isolated tenants are involved in community initiatives.

 

Tenant Involvement

Tenants and victims should be involved in developing initiatives aimed at increasing general awareness of hate crime, as well as looking at reporting and recording processes, developing, and reviewing information and monitoring and reviewing systems. Use complaints and feedback to improve your systems and sense-check that they really work.

 

Housing Development

Do you consider community relations, cohesion, and equality as part of your planning and development process? For example, you should think about spaces and developments for younger and older people, which can be used by people of different abilities and backgrounds.

 

Communications

Do you have a planned annual comms calendar that includes hate crime awareness week? Do you regularly highlight hate crime in your communications with tenants and staff? Are you confident that both tenants and staff know what hate crime is and how to report it?

CASE STUDY: POBL GROUP

Following a member Helpline request, Tai Pawb put POBL in contact with Victim Support Cymru (VSC). After gaining a better understanding of what Victim Support Cymru did and how they could support their teams and customers when working with people experiencing hate crime, POBL invited VSC to a POBL Knowledge Showcase session for POBL staff.  This was a really useful session and provided POBL teams with more tools to help them when they are supporting people who are experiencing hate crime.

POBL have recently signed up to the Victim Support Cymru Hate Crime Charter and are now working with VSC to secure the trust mark. POBL are also developing some toolbox talks for maintenance teams which will focus on educating teams on how to recognise possible red flags and signs of hate crime when they are working out in communities and in customers’ homes and what they should do if they suspect someone may be a victim of hate crime.  In the future, this training will be extended to POBL’s customer services teams.

 

In Hate Crime Awareness week, POBL produced information about hate crime each day on their internal platform for colleagues to see.  POBL are determined to keep developing what they have put in place and what they do to tackle hate crime and support people who are experiencing hate crime, through this.

POBL are also looking at the Zoteria app to see if this would benefit colleagues and customers.  The app has been developed by the Vodafone Foundation in partnership with Stonewall and Galop, Zoteria has been designed to tackle hate incidents against our community. The app also provides information on upcoming events, offers advice and support around a number of areas such as housing, mental health and sexual health.  POBL will shortly be looking at getting this rolled out to colleagues across POBL.

If you want to find out more, then contact info@taipawb.org

 

 

 

It is important to regularly train staff on hate incidents and hate crime. We would recommend refreshers every three years with priority given to customer facing and contact staff or contractors.

Training should include procedures specific to each organisation (e.g. recording, reporting etc.).

Training can be obtained from:

 

Our Deeds not Words surveys and member engagement have  shown that housing staff can be subjected to discrimination or even hate incidents. Staff highlighted that at times they find it difficult to challenge hate related comments or behaviours (when it is safe to do so) for various reasons, including breakdown in relationships with tenants or clients. Tai Pawb delivers training on how to challenge discriminatory behaviour (when it is safe to do so):

In Wales, there is a pressing need to shift the emphasis from intervention to prevention when addressing the rising tensions and worsening community relations. These issues are often fuelled by various factors, such as negative media coverage of topics like immigration, poverty, social housing, and disability. To proactively address this challenge, housing organisations can adopt strategies outlined in ASB Forum Wales: Tackling Hate Incidents Toolkit which include:

Zero Tolerance Policy: Develop and enforce a strict zero-tolerance policy against hate crimes. Housing associations should clearly communicate the consequences for engaging in hate crimes or discriminatory behaviour. This policy should be upheld consistently.

Customer Profiling: Start by conducting customer profiling to assess the unique support needs of tenants and tailor services accordingly. This approach allows to identify vulnerable individuals and provide the necessary support to prevent hate incidents.

Monitoring Demographic Changes: Continuously monitor demographic changes within tenant communities. This understanding helps in addressing evolving needs and challenges effectively.

Profiling Perpetrators: Profile individuals who have a history of engaging in hate crimes. Allocate resources to address their behaviour and take preventive measures to stop further incidents.

Community Cohesion Initiatives: Develop and support community cohesion initiatives that foster positive relationships among tenants from diverse backgrounds. This may include organising events that encourage interaction, dialogue, and understanding.

Tension Monitoring: Implement systems to monitor tensions within the community and respond promptly to diffuse potentially volatile situations. Early intervention is often the key to preventing hate incidents.

Allocation Considerations: When allocating housing, consider the potential for hate incidents. Evaluate the compatibility of tenants to promote cohesion and minimise potential conflicts.

Training and Awareness: Provide appropriate training on hate crime, protected characteristics, and specific vulnerabilities for managers, frontline staff, contractors, and tenants. Address issues like “mate crime” concerning people with learning disabilities and mental health problems.

Collaboration with Local Authorities and Police: Collaborate closely with Police, community organisations, and government bodies on prevention initiatives.

 

In addition to these strategies, consider the following to enhance your efforts in preventing hate crime:

Publicise support for the Victim Support Hate Crime Charter: Consider joining signatories to the Victim Support Hate Crime Charter. Publicly supporting the charter sends a message of proactive action on hate crime. For more information click here

Mainstreaming Prevention: Embed preventive measures within your organisation’s policies, programs, and daily actions. Ensure that the strategies recommended in the Tackling Hate Incidents Toolkit are widely adopted across various service areas, and that your staff understands and consistently implements them.

Working Across Teams: Encourage collaboration across various teams and services, including those responsible for anti-social behaviour, tenancy management, community development, tenant participation, and communication. A collective effort promotes good relations and a joint approach to tackling hate crimes.

Cultural Awareness: Promote a culture where both employees and tenants recognise their shared responsibility for ensuring good community relations and preventing hate crimes. Sending clear and positive messages to local communities reinforces this commitment.

Challenging Attitudes: Encourage tenants, contractors, and staff to challenge prejudice and stereotypes. Provide practical guidance on addressing these issues, and ensure they know whom to contact when tensions or neighbourhood relations deteriorate.

Planning and Development: Include considerations for community relations, cohesion, and equality into your planning and development processes. Create inclusive spaces and developments that cater to people of different abilities and backgrounds.

Inclusivity in Older Persons’ Accommodation: Ensure that accommodation for older individuals is inclusive of various cultures, abilities, and sexual orientations.

Engaging Young People: Explore projects, such as arts and theatre initiatives, that work with young people to challenge hate crime and prejudice. Partner with local schools to engage young people in these efforts.

Further Monitoring and Profiling: Consider monitoring all general anti-social behaviour cases by the protected characteristic of the victim and perpetrator, as well as the geographical area. This can help identify patterns related to equality and diversity, warranting further investigation and intervention.

Preventing hate crimes is an ongoing and collective effort. Housing organisations in Wales can play a pivotal role in creating safe and inclusive environments for their tenants. Collaborating with local authorities and community organisations is invaluable in this endeavour. Moreover, housing organisations should consider the guidance provided in the “Tackling Hate Incidents Toolkit” and evaluate the extent to which these preventive measures are embedded in their service areas and understood by their staff.

It is estimated that ca.70% of hate crime goes unreported. Victims do not report for a variety of reasons, including lack of belief that anything would be done about their report, fear of further victimisation and simply lack of awareness around hate crime.

Increasing awareness of hate crime and reporting mechanisms, amongst staff and tenants/clients is therefore one of the key tools to increase reporting.

 

Tools to raise awareness

 

One of the key ways to increase reporting and support victims promoting Wales Hate Support Centre

People can experience a wide range of barriers to reporting hate incidents directly to the police. Some examples of these barriers might include:

 

  • Previous negative experiences – direct or indirect (e.g. family member has a
    negative experience)
  • Lack of trust in ‘the system’ (‘nothing will be done’)
  • Not having seen the police as a supportive agency in the past
  • Having lived in a country where the police are used by a Government against
    its people
  • Worrying that the case will be out of their control when they report it
  • Worrying that what has happened to them is too trivial for the police/housing organisation to deal
    with compared to more serious crimes
  •  Fear they will not be believed
  • Not understanding what their rights are
  • Worrying the situation will be made worse by reporting e.g. the abuse will get
    worse or statutory services may have to become involved.

 

However, where a victim is reluctant to report this themselves to the police, there are a Third Party Reporting Centre can be a good option. Third Party Reporting Centres are agencies who have had specialist training to help people to report a hate incident. Third Party Reporting Centres can act as an ‘in-between’, that specialist link between the victim, the police and housing provider. Wales’ major Hate Crime Third Party Reporting Centre is the Wales Hate Support Centre (WHSC).

The WHSC combine specialist victim support with third party reporting and can be contacted via email at Hate.CrimeWales@victimsupport.org.uk or by telephone on 0300 3031 982. Their website is www.reporthate.victimsupport.org.uk. We would encourage housing organisations to regularly promote Wales Hate Support Centre on websites, newsletters and social media.

 

 

Supporting tenants who are victims of hate crimes in Wales should be tailored to their specific needs. Here’s a guide you can include in your policy/procedure on what this support should look like:

Initial Response Guide for Frontline Staff:

What to Say: When someone has experienced a hate crime, they may be feeling a variety of emotions: shocked, scared, angry, or upset. So, it is important that if they talk to you, your response is appropriate and helpful. Here are some top tips:

  • Don’t judge the victim if they choose not to report the incident to the police – they may have good reasons, such as fear of repercussions or previous bad experiences.
  • Make the tenant aware of what support is on offer – they may not be aware that they can access support or may not feel that the incident is worthy of being reported to the police.
  • Validate the tenant’s experience – acknowledge what has happened and make sure they know it is NOT acceptable and will not be tolerated. Remember that even if they choose not to report to the police, the impact may still be significant, and the incident still needs to be taken seriously.
  • Don’t minimise the impact by saying, ‘I’m sure they didn’t mean it that way’; ‘Are you sure you’re not just being oversensitive?’. The victim feels the way they do for a reason.
  • Say thank you to them for telling you – ‘I’m really glad you told me and felt able to share’; ‘It’s helpful to know about this.’
  • Ask what you can do to help – this may be something practical or just listening.
  • Take your lead from the tenant and remember that they may change their mind over time and ask for more/less support. The way we react to traumatic events is different for everyone and can change over time.
  • Don’t victim-blame by saying things like, ‘Why did you do that?’; ‘You shouldn’t have…’; ‘Perhaps if you hadn’t…’.
  • Monitor the situation – you can offer to do this remotely through phone/email contact with the tenant or face-to-face contact if that is preferred. Be tactful so your tenant knows they are not in trouble and you respect their privacy.

 

Support for people experiencing hate crime:

Signposting:

Through Victim Support and other organisations, there is a range of support available to people experiencing of hate crime in Wales, which anyone can access at any time. Anyone who makes contact with Victim Support will be taken seriously and will be supported through the process of reporting but will also be supported if they decide not to report. These support services are designed to help people experiencing hate crimes cope with the emotional and practical challenges they may face. Remember that your immediate response and ongoing support can make a significant difference in their healing process and overall well-being.

Regardless of whether or not the tenant decides to report the incident, make them aware of any relevant support services that they can access immediately. These might include:

  • Victim Support – You can talk to Victim Support as an alternative to the Police. They provide independent, confidential help, advice and support to victims and witnesses of hate crimes in Wales. You can call Victim Support free at any time on 0300 3031 982. Visit the website where you can report hate crime and find out more about getting support.

Hate crime cases can be complex and involve wider issues like domestic violence and mental health. Below is a list of organisations that may be able to support a tenant with challenges not specific to but related to hate crime:

  • Hafan Cymru – support for living safely (e.g., free from domestic abuse)
  • Mind Cymru – mental health support
  • Bawso – VAWDASV support for those of Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds
  • Scope – Disability Support
  • Every hate crime/incident is different and everyone who experiences this will have unique situation. This link is a list of specialist organisations that can help people with specific characteristics: Organisations That Can Help – True Vision

 

Police:

After a report a hate crime is made to the Police they can help by asking if the victim would like to be referred to Organisations like Victim Support for further support

The police will:

  • give the victim advice about applying for compensation – even if the police haven’t caught the offender.
  • give the victim updates about what’s happening with the case.
  • ask for feedback about how they handled the case.

Contacting the police:

  • In an emergency always call 999.
  • For non-emergency contact use 101

 

Support from the Landlord

The ways in which your organisation can support tenants who are victims of hate crimes as detailed in your policy/procedure should encompass various aspects:

  • Emotional Support: Provide tenants with immediate emotional support through counselling or referral to mental health services to help them cope with the emotional trauma resulting from hate crimes. In Wales, Mind Cymru offers valuable mental health support services. You can contact Mind Cymru  to connect tenants with the professional help they may need during this challenging time.
  • Target Hardening: Implement safety measures, such as changing locks or enhancing security, if necessary to ensure the victim’s safety and peace of mind.
  • Legal Assistance: Connect victims with legal assistance if they wish to pursue legal action against the perpetrators. This may encompass providing information about their legal rights, or facilitating connections with legal support. In Wales, you can contact Race Equality First and Victim Support Wales  to access the necessary legal assistance and guidance for victims of hate crimes.
  • Medical Assistance: Ensure access to medical services if the victim has been physically harmed and needs medical attention. This may include connecting them with local health services.
  • In an emergency always call 999.
  • Crisis Helplines: Provide access to crisis helplines or support networks where victims can talk to trained professionals.:
  • The Samaritans Helpline: Connect tenants with The Samaritans Helpline, where individuals can speak with trained professionals who provide emotional support, guidance, and a listening ear. The Samaritans Helpline is available around the clock, making it a valuable resource for tenants in crisis. Phone number – 116 123
  • Victim Support Wales Helpline: Ensure tenants are aware of the Victim Support Wales Helpline. This service offers a wide range of support, including emotional assistance and practical advice for victims of hate crimes. Tenant support is available both in person and via telephone.Phone Number – 0300 3031 982

 

24/7 Availability – Emphasise that these helplines are accessible 24/7, ensuring that tenants can reach out for help whenever they need it.

  • Zoteria: The Zoteria app is readily accessible for free download on staff and tenants’ devices. This application offers a secure environment to report hate crimes and hate incidents. App users can also connect with support services and decide whether to make a formal report to the police.
  • Tenant Engagement: Encourage victims to participate in community-building activities to rebuild their sense of safety and belonging within the housing association.
  • Advocacy with Authorities: Advocate on behalf of victims to ensure that law enforcement and other authorities are taking their cases seriously and following through with investigations. The Code of Practice for Victims of Crime sets out the services that must be provided by organisations (including the Police) to victims of crime. It also details the minimum standard for these services. You can ask for a copy of this code from the police, so you know what a victim’s rights are.
  • Cultural Sensitivity: Ensure that support is culturally sensitive and takes into account the unique needs of tenants from different backgrounds. This may involve providing interpretation services or culturally appropriate resources.
  • Anonymous Reporting: Ensure that victims can report incidents anonymously if they wish to protect their privacy.
  • Follow-Up Support: Maintain regular contact with victims to check on their well-being and to see if any additional support is required. Ensure that they are aware of ongoing support resources. Keep victims informed about the status of any investigations or legal proceedings related to their case.
  • Housing Relocation: Primary focus should be on meeting the needs of victims to remain in their current residence. The housing association may consider relocating a perpetrator to an alternative property to safeguard the well-being of a victim(s). Relocating victims should only be considered when there are safeguarding concerns, limited other mitigating options and should not preclude the perpetrator from facing the consequences of their behaviour.

Both police and the landlord have powers to deal with perpetrators of hate incidents and crimes.

 

Police: if police receive a hate incident report, they will investigate and decide whether to charge the perpetrator under hate crime legislation. The police procedure will discern whether the law has been broken and if the incident is a hate crime. Police can then prosecute the perpetrator.

 

Social landlords: Social landlord’s ASB policy and hate crime policy should cover the range of tools available to landlords to tackle hate incidents and hate crime, depending on the situation. These can include (but are not limited to):

  • Supporting the perpetrator with issues which may be causing or exacerbating the hate incidents (where appropriate)
  • Mediation
  • Restorative approaches
  • Exclusions or occupation orders
  • Injunctions
  • Possession orders
  • Evictions
  • Other tools

REMEMBER: Landlords can investigate and act on hate incidents without the need for the police to prove that it is indeed a criminal offence – a hate crime. Social landlords in Wales have committed not to evict people into homelessness – make sure that the right support and alternative accommodation is in place if it is necessary to evict a perpetrator.

Working with Perpetrators: trauma-informed approach

 

At times, perpetrators of hate crime, just like those perpetrating ASB, may be dealing with unmet support needs which exacerbate or cause the hate incidents to occur. These may be mental health issues or distress, drug and alcohol dependency, learning difficulties, domestic abuse and other well-being issues.

Trauma informed approach recognises the need to safeguard the health, safety and rights of victims while recognising and understanding that many of the people perpetrating hate crime can also be vulnerable.

In their Reframing ASB approach, Shelter Cymru describe a trauma-informed approach: In relation to ASB, for the victim, a trauma informed, restorative approach would involve

creating a safe and supportive environment for them to share their experiences, feelings, and needs. It would also involve providing appropriate support and resources for them

to heal from the trauma. For the alleged perpetrator a trauma informed restorative approach would involve understanding the role of trauma in their behaviour and addressing the

underlying issues.

 

More information on trauma-informed approaches to tackling ASB and hate crime:

Communicating and working with tenants, clients and communities is a key part of tackling hate incidents and hate crimes. Tenants are part of the communities you work with and so it’s vitally important that as many  as possible can:

  • Recognise hate crime.
  • Know how to report it.
  • Work with you to develop new approaches/raise awareness about to hate crime.

Here are some approaches to consider:

Communication

Raising awareness about hate crime with tenants and residents is an on-going process. Whilst Hate Crime Week (14-21 October) is always a good time to focus on hate crime, it can’t just be an annual event. Think about a communication campaign that includes what hate crime is, how many people are affected by it and some real-life stories and videos (see raising awareness section). Think about what information about hate crime is available on your website and how easy is it to find it?

Engagement/Participation

Make sure you talk to your engaged tenants, clients, groups and scrutiny groups about hate crime. Use the information you have- your own data or local data- as well as your social media information, videos and news stories, to start a discussion. Consider offering them training about hate crime, so that they can not only recognise a hate incident or crime but be in a more confident position to talk about it within their communities and provide a more informed challenge to any initiatives or communications that you develop with them.

Monitoring and Reviewing

Think about your monitoring of hate incidents- are they ‘hidden’ as part of ASB incidents? Can you interrogate your data so that diversity data is used to review ASB and hate incidents? Can you share this with the relevant tenant group(s), to both raise their awareness but also to have an informed discussion about the frequency and impact of such incident?

When you are reviewing hate crime policies and information, are you able to involve tenants who have been the victims of hate crime, as people with lived experience can bring valuable insights to this issue.

 

Hate Crime and ASB policies should be regularly Equality Impact Assessed (EIA). EIA’s can help your organisation consider relevant hate crime monitoring data, review your organisational responses, consider diverse tenant voice and the impact of your approach to hate crime on affected communities.

You can access Tai Pawb guidance and EIA toolkit here.

Privacy is an important consideration when reporting incidents of hate crime.  Information provided by and/or kept on people experiencing hate crime will be subject to your GDPR policies and Safeguarding Policies. Here are some key considerations:

  • Is your organisation part of WASPI (Wales Accord on Sharing of Personal Information?)
  • Does the victim understand confidentiality? This should be explained to the victim e.g. GDPR requirements, how confidentiality works between the organisation and the victim
  • Is the victim vulnerable in anyway – learning needs, disability, older or recovering from substance use? This may affect how you deal with the information.
  • Do you have reason to believe the victim or someone else might be at risk (e.g could they be at risk of violence, is there a child at risk of abuse)?
  • Are there any signs that the incident they have told you about might be worse than they are letting on (bruises/injuries, evidence that they are not leaving the house, compensatory behaviours, self-discriminatory language)?
  • Which information needs to be passed on and to whom (Police, Social services, Victim Support, GP)? What are the facts and what is relevant?
  • How will you follow up? How will you check that the victim is happy with what has happened how / when will you keep them informed of what you have done?
  • Is victim data kept securely and not shared with anyone without their consent unless there are safeguarding concerns? Make them aware that they always have the right to request any data held about them or request its deletion from your records complying with General Data Protection Regulations.

If you think that the victim or someone else is in danger, you should follow your usual Safguarding Procedures, by e.g. reporting the situation to the Police or Victim Support. 

 

Need further information on hate crime, hate incidents and housing contact:

Tai Pawb

Members Helpline

helpline@taipawb.org

029 2053 7630

Information

Please note the material in this section is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Tai Pawb is not responsible for the content of external resources.