A Detective Constable specialising in hate crime gave a presentation at a multi-agency conference.
Dc David Acres was invited to speak at the Understanding Hate Crime conference, run by the North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, in order to discuss the support that those who may be suffering from hate crime can access.
Dc Acres addressed representatives from several organisations, including Chelmsford City Council and Castle Point Association of Volunteer Services, about what constitutes as hate crime and the measures that are in place by Essex Police in order to combat this distressing and upsetting crime.
The emphasis of the conference was on encouraging NHS users to tell police if they have been a victim of hate crime, whether it is based on race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.
Essex Police launched a countywide Stop the Hate programme in 2013, encouraging people to ‘report it to sort it’. Since then, we have been working with various partners to give people who are suffering from hate crime the confidence to report this to the police, and to spread the message that bullying and hate crime will not be tolerated.
The Stop the Hate programme has also introduced Hate Incident Reporting Centres, (HIRCs), which are community venues where individuals can report hate incidents and hate crimes, either as a victim or a witness. A HIRC can act as an alternative place for reporting such incidents rather than directly to the police.
A HIRC works in collaboration with Essex Police and other partner agencies to provide support and information during the reporting process. There are various HIRCs across the county, which can be accessed via the Stop the Hate website.
Dc Acres said: “I am pleased to be speaking to our partners in the NHS and around the county today about this topic – it gives us an opportunity to discuss how best we can support the victims of hate crime, and to raise awareness of this among the wider community.
“Partnership working on this level is incredibly important, as we can then learn from one another for ways in which we can tackle this issue and ensure that service users feel they have somewhere to turn to and that they will be dealt with in a sensitive and professional manner”.
Presentations during the conference included projects such as the Keep Safe scheme, which has been rolled out countywide with the support of Essex Police, where vulnerable shoppers can seek assistance from retailers in various towns across the county if they need assistance or support.