All hate crimes and hate incidents reported to the Council will be handled by our anti-social behaviour (ASB) unit and will be treated as an ASB priority one case. Victims will have a single point of contact (an ASB officer) who will manage the case from start to finish.
Upon receipt of report, we will (subject to complainant's availability):
- Within One Working Day: Provide an initial response to the person making the report to confirm we have received the report and arrange the interview.
- Within Two Working Days: conduct an interview with the person making the report, complete an assessment, including any support needs they may have, and refer the case to the relevant service for investigation.
Upon referral of the case to the relevant service:
- Within Two Working Days: The lead officer will contact the complainant to introduce themselves and agree an action plan. We will refer to any prior information we have on the needs of the complainant so that they do not need to repeat information they may have told us previously. We will record our assessment and the action we agree to take. For council tenants, this will be in line with the Council Housing Supporting Residents policy.
- Update the person who made the report every ten working days, as a minimum, until the case is closed.
We will advise victims on how to report incidents and collect evidence. Where the victim is at risk or indicate that they would like to remain anonymous their identify can be withheld from the evidence. Anonymous evidence can impact the strength of any application, the options and the impact will be discussed with the victim.
We will provide information regarding independent forms of support. Any barriers and/or cultural needs of the victim will be identified and met. We will provide translators and ensure additional support needs are provided for through an appropriate adult and making other reasonable adjustments.
We accept that some victims may wish to remain anonymous through fear of reprisal or escalation.
Further details on the action that will be taken against perpetrators of hate crime and hate incidents can be found in the section above 'Work with partners to take coordinated action against perpetrators'.