Hate Crime Awareness Week 2020: Don’t Suffer in Silence

This week is Hate Crime Awareness Week 2020 and Warwickshire Police are marking it by urging victims not to suffer in silence.

Throughout the pandemic, many people have been isolated from friends, family and communities, and police are concerned there may be a lot of victims of hate crime who are not reporting to police.

Inspector Ben Hembry from the Warwickshire Police Hate Crime Team said: “We already know that hate crime is underreported across the country and we have worked hard over the last few years to increase reporting by giving victims the confidence to come forward.

“My concern is that over the last six months as people have found themselves more isolated from their communities and support networks, there are victims who are not getting the support they need and offenders not being brought to justice.

“During Hate Crime Awareness Week we are taking the opportunity to remind people that we are here, we will investigate all reports of hate crime, provide support for victims and do everything we can to bring offenders to justice.

“In Hate Crime Awareness Week we normally like to take the opportunity to go out to community venues and talk to people face-to-face. However, as with so many aspects of life, this won’t be possible this year so we’ll be working to engage with the community through other routes such as Zoom, social media and the media.”