What is hate crime?

Hate crime is an act committed against any person or group who are seen to be different or vulnerable. It is often motivated by the individual or group offender’s prejudice which can be based on race, ethnicity, religion, age, gender, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation.

It can take many forms and does not always result in physical violence. Verbal abuse such as being called names on the street, insulting graffiti of property, threatening letters or offensive material and phone harassment can all have a huge impact on victims and therefore are classed as a hate crimes.

What action is being taken against it?

The BurySafe Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership (CDRP) take hate crime extremely seriously and believe that this crime should not tolerated. Targetting hate crime is a high priority for the BurySafe CDRP.

Working in partnership with other agencies such as Victim Support, the BurySafe CDRP gives confidential, supportive services to victims and witnesses of hate crime.

How and where can I report a hate crime?

Whether you are a victim, witness or third party (I.e. friend or family member) it is essential that any hate crime offence is reported as this allows the correct authorities to deal with it and can help provide information that will improve support for victims and prevent further instances.

Ways in which you can report are:

• Call in at one of our reporting centres (link to list in the top left of page)
• Ring the Council directly on 0161 253 5000
• Report at your local police station or call their non-emergency reporting number 0161 872 5050
• Ring Crimestoppers anonymously to report any type of crime on 0800 111 555
• In an emergency situtation dial 999

Try to report the incident as soon as possible and if you can write down everything that happened during the incident including time, date and place. Do not touch anything that may be classed as evidence such as weapons used etc.

Reports are taken extremely seriously and  in the strictest confidence and if you prefer your report can be kept anonymous and you will not be asked for any personal details. However the multi-agency approach adopted by Bury means that a reporting centre will send copies of a report to:

• The hate crime co-ordinator for Bury Council
• The police, for action to be taken with your consent, against the perpetrators
• Any other support agency involved

The following agencies can also offer you advice and support:

• Greater Manchester Police
• Bury Victim Support and Witness Service
• Bury Community Safety Partnership
• Housing - the council  or alternatively your housing association or private landlord

For a list of reporting centres please visit the reporting hate crime page.

For more details on any of the above please contact:

Community Safety Team
Chief Executives Department
Bury MBC
Bury Town Hall
Knowsley Street
Bury
BL9 0SW

Telephone: 0161 253 5000