Support and Report for staff

Hate Crime and Hate Incidents

What is a hate crime?

A hate crime is any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice, on the basis of:

  • Disability
  • Race
  • Religion
  • Sexual orientation
  • Transgender identity

Devon and Cornwall Police also record hate crimes motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person’s sex, e.g. misogynistic or misandrist hate crime.

What is a hate incident?

A hate incident, known as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI), is any incident perceived to have been motivated by hostility or prejudice, but which does not meet the criminal threshold.

Hate crime can include things like:

  • Being called names or other forms of verbal abuse
  • Being sent offensive letters, emails or text messages
  • Being attacked or threatened with violence
  • Having your property interfered with or damaged

If any of these things are happening to you, you should report to the police and you can also report to the University.

The police and the University take all reports seriously. We have a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime and work together on this.

If you are not sure if you have experienced a crime or not, we would still encourage you to report it to the police or the University. 

Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger, people are injured, an offender is nearby, or you need immediate support. There is more information on the Devon and Cornwall Police website on when to call 999. There is also information on how to make a silent 999 call if needed. 

You can report hate crime to the police online, by calling the police emergency number 101, or visiting your local police station.

If you do not want to report directly to the police, you can report through the True Vision Report It tool or Stop Hate UK. By reporting through a third party you can remain anonymous if you wish to, but please read the guidance on the provider website about how to do this.

The University cannot report a hate crime to the police on your behalf but we can support you to make a report to the police. You can ask for this support when you report an incident informally or formally.

You can seek support and advice for hate crime from the university's Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team.

There are also local charities, groups and organisations in Devon and Cornwall which can offer support, advice and ways to report an incident without having to talk directly to the police:

Devon:

Cornwall:

There are also organisations who provide support nationwide: