Hate Crime or Hate Incident?
A hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity.
A hate incident is any non-crime incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, disability or gender identity.
Hate crimes and incidents can cover a wide range of offences and behaviours, including bullying and name calling, verbal abuse, physical assault and violence, damage to property or cyber bullying.
We know that people do not always relate to the term ‘hate’, but it is important to understand that if a person is being specifically targeted or harassed because of who they are, then this is a form of hate.
If you have experienced a hate crime or incident we would like you to tell us -
- Call into your local police station
- Speak to a Police Officer or PCSO on the street
- Phone the Police on 101 to tell them about something that has happened before
- Call 999 if you or someone else is in immediate danger
If you are Deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired then you can text us. Further information on the emergency and non-emergency text messaging service can be found here.
If you don’t want to tell the police, there are many different ways you can get help for yourself or someone else affected by a hate crime or hate incident -
- Victim Support – report online at www.reporthate.victimsupport.org.uk or you can call them on 0300 30 31 982 (Freephone 24/7)
- True Vision – www.report-it.org.uk
- True Vision Hate Crime App - http://appcat.com/truevision/
- Local support groups – there are many support groups in your area
When you report a hate crime or incident, Heddlu Dyfed Powys Police will look into what happened and what you tell us will be taken seriously. We will offer support to anyone who tells us about a hate crime or incident, and we will do our best to make you feel safe.
'Hate Crime is wrong. Report it'
The force hate crime information booklet is available here.
What is Mate Crime
It is recognised that many people with disabilities or the elderly have so called ‘friends’ or ‘mates’ who go on to abuse them.
This is Mate Crime.
Many of those affected can struggle to recognise when they are being exploited and when they do realise that something is wrong, they may be barriers to reporting.
They might be too afraid to tell anyone as those responsible will often make nasty threats to keep the person quiet. It could be because even though the person knows that the relationship is unequal or controlling its better than no friendship at all as people targeted in this way often lack a support network and live with a high level of social isolation. People with learning disabilities can struggle to form and maintain friendships. The elderly are often isolated due to illness or mobility.
A 'mate' may be a friend, neighbour, a carer or someone else known to the person. Another person with a disability could also be a perpetrator of mate crime.
The Welsh Governments report ‘Tackling Hate Crimes – A Framework for Action’ recognises Mate Crime as an area of concern and has identified it as a specific form of disability hate crime. However, despite its label, this type of exploitation is not recorded as a specific crime.
What does it look like?
- Name calling and bullying
- Physical violence
- Theft of belongings
- Damage to your home or property
But all involving a threat regarding ‘the friendship’ – ‘I won’t be friends with you anymore if you don’t ………..’
There are many agencies that can help you to get the help you need – a list of support groups available within Dyfed & Powys can be found here.
The force 'Mate Crime' information booklet is available here.