Hate Crime Press Release

“Birmingham is proud of its diversity – we’d like to keep it that way” is a new strap line that fronts a hate crime campaign, aimed at engaging the hearts and minds of those that live, work and visit Birmingham.

The campaign, launched by the Safer Birmingham Partnership, aims to raise awareness on hate crime and encourage all victims and witnesses to report it. Hate crime consists of abuse or discrimination based on a person’s gender, age, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and/or disability.

Councillor Ayoub Khan, Cabinet Member for Local Services and Community Safety comments: ‘Birmingham is the safest of the eight core cities in the UK with the lowest overall crime rate but hate crime can have enormous impact on people’s lives – physically and emotionally. It can affect a victim’s health and well-being, it can damage their health and it can affect their outlook on life. Most types of crime are reducing in Birmingham but with hate crime, we don’t know the real picture.’

Hate crime is an important area of activity for Safer Birmingham Partnership, not least because those that are victims of hate crime are afraid to report it, but also because victims feel that hate crime is ‘just one of those things that you should put up with.’ This has to change.

Safer Birmingham Partnership believes that most people in Birmingham do get on together and won’t stand for hate crime. Birmingham is not a city where hate crime is acceptable, nor is it tolerated. Safer Birmingham Partnership and its partners will take action against those who commit hate crime and are currently actively undertaking legal proceedings on a number of individual cases across the range of hate crime types.

Jackie Russell, Director of Safer Birmingham Partnership comments: ‘We want to encourage residents to report hate crime and trust that we will do something about it. We are aware that this campaign may encourage reporting to go up but we are prepared for this increase and have made sure that our staff are available to provide support whenever needed.’

The campaign posters will be displayed in and around the city in high visibility locations including poster sites and inside buses. One poster includes a scene on Birmingham New Street where everyone has a label. The labels identify anonymous individuals by gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality or disability. These are the different elements that make up hate crime. The poster suggests that we all have labels that identify us but it’s when they are used negatively against you, that hate crime occurs.

The second poster in this campaign includes residents of Birmingham spearheading a message to not tolerate hate crime in this city.

Safer Birmingham Partnership hope that the images used will make people who are guilty of discriminating and abusing others, think about their actions and also encourage those that have suffered from hate crime, to come forward and report it.

The way that hate crime can be reported has been improved and additional training for staff in existing City Council hate crime reporting centres, neighbourhood offices, libraries and leisure centres, is being rolled out across the city. This training will underpin the service and enable staff to ensure that reports of hate crime are directed to the right place for the appropriate course of action, and that victims are referred to the appropriate support services. The number that is being publicised in the campaign is 0121 303 1111. This confidential service is resourced by trained staff able to take reports of hate crime.

This campaign is part of the Safer Birmingham Partnerships ‘Hate Crime Reduction Strategy’ which is aimed at tackling hate crime across the city.

End

Notes to Editors

1. Please contact Natasha Bhandal on 0121 303 8727 for further information.

2. Safer Birmingham Partnership is a multi-agency organisation that includes West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council, West Midlands Fire Service, Birmingham Primary Care Trusts, Third Sector Assembly, Probation Service and a range of other agencies. Safer Birmingham Partnership ensures the delivery of a range of community safety activity which is aimed at making Birmingham even safer.

3. The Safer Birmingham Partnership ensures a coordinated approach to crime reduction and community safety providing strategic leadership for partnership working in order to:

4. The hate crime campaign has four aims:

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