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Hate crime

What is hate crime? 

A hate crime is any hate incident which constitutes a criminal offence and the victim or any other person believes it to be motivated by prejudice or hate.

Devon and Cornwall Police will record a hate incident if the victim or another person believes it is motivated by the hatred of someone because of a particular factor.

Those factors include:

  • a person's disability
  • their race, ethnicity or nationality
  • their religion or belief
  • their sexual orientation
  • their gender identity
  • their sex or gender.

Hate crime can be against the person, or the person's property.

What are hate incidents? 

Hate incidents are any non-criminal incidents which are perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice. This may be an incident involving prejudicial behaviour where the criminal threshold isn’t met, such as being excluded from a barber’s shop for being transgender, or being called names.

Further information about hate crime and hate incidents can be found on the Devon and Cornwall Police website 

How to report a hate crime or incident

You can report a hate crime or incident in a number of ways:

To the police 

If you are seeking information or reporting an incident on behalf of a friend or member of the family whose first language is not English please let the police know and they will arrange for an interpreter to be present if appropriate.

If you are Deaf, Devon and Cornwall Police have access to SignLive which will enable them access to BSL interpreters

To a third party who will report the incident to the police with your permission 

National third party reporting

Support for Victims of Hate Crime

Victim Care Unit Devon and Cornwall

The Victim Care Unit is a team of staff who work with people who have experienced crime to try and get them the support they need. The Victim Care Unit is run by Devon and Cornwall Police and funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner. 

The service aims to help individuals cope and recover from what has happened to them. The service is available whether or not a person's crime is being investigated by the police. 

You can get in touch with them by telephoning 01392 475900 

Textphone/Minicom Number: 18001 01392 475900

SMS/Text number: 67101 (for deaf, hard of hearing, speech impaired only) 

True Vision

True Vision is a police-funded website designed to provide you with information and advice about Hate Crime.

You can also report Hate Crime online through the True Vision webpage.

For further information, please visit the True Vision website

Victim Support 

Victim Support is an independent charity offering free, confidential, specialist services to help people affected by all types of crime and traumatic incidents - regardless of whether the crime has been reported to the police or when it occurred. 

To contact Victim Support, call their free 24/7 Supportline - 08 08 16 89 111 or start a live chat

In an emergency, always call 999. 

Online Hate Crime Awareness