Honour Crime Hotline Set for Busy Summer

Cambridgeshire police say it's coming up to their busiest time of year as they try and stop people from our area being forced into marriages.

June and July are often used as a time to take teenage boys and girls out of the country against their will as it's the school holidays, and the alarm may not be raised that they've gone missing until term starts again in September.

It's come as the dedicated hotline for people to report so called "Honour Crimes" celebrates its second anniversary.

Police have investigated 120 possible crimes in the last 12 months across Cambridgeshire, many of them violent attacks. Detective Inspector Chris Balmer has been explaining to Heart WHY these crimes take place.

"It's done to retrieve the family or community honour because of some perceived act that the victim has carried out in some way. They can be as minor as wearing the wrong clothes or speaking to the wrong person."

He says that no matter what people are scared of, they need to get in touch to tell someone about it. "The crimes them selves can be common assault as in the kind of slaps that don't leave a mark but are designed to take control of someone, or they can be more serious, like grievous bodily harm or even murder."

If you or someone you know is at risk from some kind of honour crime or forced marriage, then you can call 0800 5 999 818 24 hours a day for help or just advice. It's run by specially trained officers and is completely confidential.

 

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