Nottinghamshire Police host workshop on hate crime with community leaders

An important discussion was held with dozens of community representatives about the impact a hate crime can have.

More than 50 people heard first-hand about the emotional toll of hate crime by listening to the lived experiences of victims.

An honest conversation then followed between the police and others present about what could be done to improve things.

Community leaders, hate crime partners and the county’s Independent Advisory Group (IAG) were all brought together for the workshop.

The IAG is made up of representatives from diverse groups across Nottinghamshire and is dedicated to improving policing for all within the community.

Increasing awareness and improving reporting of hate crime were among the aims of the October 1, event at Arnold’s Edwards Lane Estate Community Centre.

It also discussed some solutions to some real-world scenarios, while looking to strengthen trust between the police and the county’s diverse communities in the process.

Among those to speak at the workshop was Chief Inspector Craig Berry, Nottinghamshire Police’s hate crime lead.

He said: “Hate crime has a profound impact on individuals and communities, so it’s really important that we listen to the lived experiences of those impacted and learn what we can do to improve things.

“A key part of us making those improvements is taking on board the thoughts of the diverse communities we represent, so it was great to be able to get so many people together for this workshop.

“Hearing the honest and real-life stories of those who have experienced hate speech really showcased the emotional toll these offences can cause and the need for a sensitive, community-led policing approach to this.

“We had some great feedback from the event, with attendees highlighting how valuable the discussions were and asking for us to do it again more often, which was fantastic to hear.”

The police-led workshop was held in the lead up to the national Hate Crime Awareness Week, which began on Saturday, October 11, and is running until Friday, October 17.

A hate crime can be separated into three types – physical assault, verbal abuse or incitement of hatred – and is any incident that is perceived to be based on someone’s prejudice towards a person because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.

The event was organised by the force’s Hate Crime team, who work closely with local partners to support victims of hate and engage with communities to ensure more people feel comfortable reporting incidents.

Empowering more people to do this is a key focus of Nottinghamshire Police’s ‘Take Aim at Hate’ campaign, which has led to the force achieving an 86 per cent satisfaction rate following feedback from hate crime victims.

Survey results also revealed more than 91 per cent of victims were confident Nottinghamshire Police would effectively deal with a hate crime if they reported it.

Chief Superintendent Nick Waldram, of Nottinghamshire Police, added: “Ensuring people feel comfortable and confident to report a hate crime is incredibly important, so it’s pleasing to see the force achieve such high victim satisfaction and confidence ratings.

“These scores actually represent the highest we’ve ever had as a police force, with the hard work of our dedicated Hate Crime team playing a big part in this, although I’d add that we appreciate more still needs to be done.

“We were really pleased to be able to organise the recent hate crime workshop, which saw our officers have some invaluable discussions with dozens of community representatives about how we can better tackle this issue.

“It is important that we continue to work with our partners to encourage more people to report hate crimes, which is very important and a key message from both our Take Aim at Hate campaign and the national Hate Crime Awareness Week which we’re proud to support.”