Introduction
Hammersmith & Fulham Council will deliver an effective service for victims of any hate crime or hate incident. We believe that our residents should live freely, with dignity and without fear of discrimination, in any form.
Hate crime has no place in our society. It affects people based on their race, sex, gender, faith or religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity, or disability. It disempowers people and destabilises their lives, creates fear, and weakens community cohesion.
Hate crime is a strategic priority for our multi-agency Community Safety Partnership (CSP) in recognition of its impact on those effected. We treat all reports as a priority.
Hammersmith & Fulham Council understands that hate crime is not only an attack on an individual but on a community.
We need residents, and those that visit and work in our borough who experience hate crimes to feel confident that effective action will be taken, and we encourage the reporting of all incidents. We will ensure that our policies are inclusive, clear and remove any barriers to reporting.
Scope
This policy applies to anyone who lives in, works in, studies in or visits the borough. This includes the action we will take in our role as a social housing landlord in relation to hate incidents perpetrated by or affecting our council housing tenants.
Our Anti-Social Behaviour Unit (ASBU) will record and investigate hate incidents or hate crimes reported to us recognising that situations can quickly change and become more serious.
Understanding more about the type and frequency of hate crimes and hate incidents is also a valuable method of collecting information and monitoring tensions in our communities.
This policy sets out what the council means by hate crimes and hate incidents and the principles that the council will use when tackling reports through prevention, enforcement, and support.
Any reference to 'we', 'our' or 'us' refers to Hammersmith & Fulham Council.