App To Report Hate Crime In Hampshire

14 May 2013, 06:00

With more than 1200 people affected by hate crime in Hampshire in 2011/2012 - the force has developed an app to make it easier to report.

The ‘Helping Victims of Hate Crime’ app has been developed for Hampshire Constabulary and is officially launched on Tuesday, May 14.

The app brings together information about hate crimes and hate incidents and encourages people to report them.

It was developed from the design for a booklet previously created for the Hampshire Police Authority and piloted in the Western Area of the constabulary.

PC Ahmed Sasso, developed the idea in force. He said: "The communities we serve across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are diverse and the app is another tool to help us connect with them. The idea is to provide information in one handy place about hate crimes including how to report them, how to stay safe and what support is available for victims.

"These are crimes and incidents where the victim is targeted because of who they are, for example, because of the colour of their skin, their sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, religion or ethnicity.

"We treat all reports of a hate crime or hate incident very seriously. They’re cowardly and unacceptable crimes which can affect not only the victim but also their family, friends and, in certain cases, a whole section of a community.

"The main advice is don’t suffer in silence and don’t let them get away with it. It could be that whoever’s done this is targeting people more vulnerable than you and may not understand how hurtful their behaviour is."

If you or someone you know has been assaulted, threatened, intimidated because of who you are, you can report it directly to the police or through the True Vision website or the anonymous Crimestoppers charity. People can also call the charity Stop Hate UK - 0800 138 1625