Victims of hate crime can report online

Staffordshire Police is supporting a new national initiative to help victims of hate crime.

A new website, called True Vision, can be accessed at www.report-it.org.uk, or via the force website at www.staffordshire.police.uk. It offers information for victims and the public about what hate crime is and why it is important to report it when it happens.

There is information about the range of ways victims can report hate crimes, including a new online reporting form. The site also provides links to organisations that can offer support and advice on hate crime related issues.

Asst Ch Constable Jane Sawyers said: "Hate crime causes a great deal of fear amongst victims and damages communities. Whilst we are committed to reducing the incidence of hate crime, it is vital that we close the gap of under-reporting.

Only by increasing reporting can we gain a better understanding of the extent of hate crime and it is for this reason that I urge victims and witnesses to use the True Vision website and to continue to come forward so we can bring the offenders to justice."

The police service believes that the website will help increase the reporting of hate crime by building confidence in victims and offering a range of reporting options for victims who may not wish to talk directly to the police. It also provides links to a number of organisations who can offer support.

Professor John Grieve CBE, Independent Chair of the Government’s Hate Crime Advisory Group, said: "The UK is amongst world leaders in the way that it responds to hate crime, but there is still much work to do.

One of the greatest challenges is to reduce the under-reporting of hate crime.

We welcome the government’s commitment to increase reporting and we will be examining this data in the forthcoming months and years to better understand the extent of hate crime and to challenge where performance does not meet the high standards that the public rightly demands of the criminal justice agencies."