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Healthy Surrey

Hate crime

Find out more about hate crime, what to do if you are a victim of hate crime, how to report it and what will happen when you report.

With most crimes it is something the victim has in their possession or control that motivates the offender to commit the crime. With hate crime it is 'who' the victim is, or 'what' the victim appears to be that motivates the offender to commit the crime.

A hate crime is defined as, '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 or perceived race
  • Religion or perceived religion
  • Sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation
  • Disability or perceived disability
  • Any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender
  • Alternative subculture or perceived alternative subculture

Hate crime

Hate crime can fall into one of four main types.

TypeDescription
Physical assault

Physical assault of any kind is an offence. If you've been a victim of physical assault, you should report it to Surrey Police.

Verbal abuse

Verbal abuse, threats or name-calling can be a common and extremely unpleasant experience for minority groups. Victims of verbal abuse are often unclear whether an offence has been committed or believe there is little they can do. However, there are laws in place to protect you from verbal abuse.

Incitement to hatred

The offence of incitement to hatred occurs when someone acts in a way that is threatening and intended to stir up hatred. That could be in words, pictures, videos, music, and includes information posted on websites. Hate content may include:

  • Messages calling for violence against a specific person or group
  • Web pages that show pictures, videos or descriptions of violence against anyone due to their perceived differences
  • Chat forums where people ask other people to commit hate crimes against a specific person or group
Criminal damage

If someone has deliberately destroyed or caused permanent damage to something that belongs to you, then you are a victim of criminal damage and should report it to Surrey Police. This includes hate related graffiti.

Hate incident

A hate incident is any non-criminal incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is motivated by someone's prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, transgender or because of an alternative subculture. Hate incident examples include:

  • Verbal or online abuse
  • Insults
  • Taunting
  • Offensive leaflets and posters
  • Abusive gestures
  • Bullying at school or in the workplace

Evidence of the hate element is not a requirement. You do not need to personally perceive the incident to be hate related. It would be enough if another person thought that the incident was hate related.

Types of hate crimes and incidents

TypeDescription
Race

This is a broad term used to include skin colour, nationality, immigration status, language etc. A race related crime or incident which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated (wholly or partially) by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's race, ethnicity, nationality or place of birth or perceived race.

Religion

Any crime or incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's religion, faith or belief or perceived religion, faith or belief. This includes hatred towards atheists, agnostics and spiritualists. This also includes sectarian hate (hatred between differing sections of the same religion).

Sexuality

Any crime or incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated (wholly or partially) by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation. A sexual orientation hate crime could also target someone who is not themselves from the targeted group and the harmed person could be, for example, the child of a same-sex couple.

Disability

Any crime or incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's disability or perceived disability, including both physical and mental disabilities. The Equality Act, 2010 (EA) generally defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Transgender

Any crime or incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated (wholly or partially) by a hostility or prejudice based on a person who identifies as transgender.

A transgender hate crime could target someone who is not themselves transgender and the harmed person could be, for example, the child of a transgender person or someone mistaken as being transgender.

Alternative Subculture

Any crime or incident which is perceived, by the victim or any other person, to be motivated (wholly or partially) by a hostility or prejudice based on a person's connection or membership to an Alternative lifestyle/culture. This would typically include those who identify as Goths, Emos, New Age, and any subculture which has a strong identity with distinctive dress, specific and shared values and shared music styles. The introduction of alternative subculture hate crime has been pioneered by Sylvia Lancaster, whose daughter, Sophie Lancaster, was tragically kicked to death in 2007, simply for the way she looked and her style. Visit the Sophie Lancaster Foundation for advice or support with alternative subcultures.

The effects of hate crimes and incidents

The targeting of an individual due to their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, their transgender status or for any other reason based on their identity, has no place in 21st century society. All people should be free to live their lives without fear of prejudice, violence or hate.

An attack on someone because of their personal characteristics is an attack on the very core of that person's humanity and can have a devastating impact on victims and their families. Even an isolated incident can have a long lasting and detrimental effect on the victim.

Victims are often afraid to leave their homes for fear of being targeted. This is supported by the fact that there are high levels of repeat victimisation for this type of crime. Victims will often experience many incidents without reporting them to the police or to any other agency.