Hate crime victims urged to speak out in Bedfordshire

Bedfordshire Police had an 84 per cent conviction rate for hate crime from April to December 2018.

The force and countywide partners have been raising awareness of the importance of reporting hate crime and encouraging people to come forward against this vastly under-reported crime.

Sergeant Carl Perri, force hate crime lead, said: “We are working hard to ensure members of the community are not discriminated against simply for who they are and we are working in partnership to educate and give our communities the confidence to speak out against such prejudice, to effectively tackle hate crime.

“We are encouraging victims of hate crime to come forward to police, report online at True Vision or through or third party reporting centres. Our officers work hard to explore all investigative avenues to secure essential evidence, which has helped to secure convictions, as well as ensure victims feel supported in speaking out after suffering these terrible and damaging crimes.”

The third party reporting centres are a range of key organisations and groups in the heart of our communities, where people can report hate crime in a surrounding they feel comfortable in and with people they feel comfortable talking to.

Hate crimes can be reported by calling 101, reporting online at www.report-it.org.uk or by visiting one of the local reporting centres. For further information visit the Bedfordshire Police website.