Hate crime is taken to mean any crime where the perpetrator's prejudice against an identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised. This is a broad and inclusive definition. A victim of hate crime does not have to be a member of a minority or someone who is generally considered to be a `vulnerable' person. In fact, anyone could be a victim of a hate crime.

Domestic violence is not included within the guide Many of its features are not common to hate crime as defined here. Specific guidance to ensure that domestic violence is dealt with effectively and sensitively is best given in a separate document. It is recognised that domestic violence can be racist or homophobic. Such hate crimes must be dealt with in line with guidance for domestic violence as well as with the hate crime guidance provided here.

The ACPO definition of hate crime:

"Any offence/incident committed against a person or property which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offenders bias against a race, colour, religion, gender disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. It may also be where a person is targeted or selected because of their status, group characteristics or affiliation"

The police service firmly believes that its role in society means that the police, above all, must be - and be seen to be - entirely fair to every individual and to all sections of the community. This must apply to our response to racist crime and all other forms of hate crime. Among these, homophobic crime is particularly relevant since many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people believe that homophobia is widespread within the service. They are wary of reporting any crime for fear that the police will investigate their lifestyle along with the crime. This mistrust is reinforced by a belief among many LGBT people that the police will not respect what they are told in confidence and may give information about a person's sexuality to family members, employers or neighbours.

All victims of hate crime must be treated sensitively and considerately. Hate crimes can have an effect within communities far beyond the victim. Hate crimes cause fear among targeted groups. It is for this reason the police service have taken specific steps to combat hate crime.

As a result, they may not feed confident to report crimes and other incidents against them. In addition, they may not present themselves as witness. By treating all people with respect, recognising their to be individuals, we can build trust and confidence in the community. Victims and witnesses may come forward to assist the police as a result.

It is important to respect an individual need for confidentiality. Many transsexual people have no wish that others should become aware of their status. All transvestites need confidentiality. Often, partners, families, neighbours, employers and colleagues are not aware of their situation, and the person could be greatly embarrassed if such information became known.

When a victim is finally moved to report a hate crime/incident, their trauma and distress is likely to reflect the combined fear, misery and despair from a catalogue of previous victimisation, In any close community, the effects of hate crime/incidents will not only have a devastating impact on the victim, their family and friends, but will also effect the quality of life of the entire community. For every primary victim there are likely to be numerous secondary victims.

Beyond its impact on the individual, hate crime/incidents are a powerful poison to society. It emphasises and sensitises feelings of difference rather than focusing on what is shared in common. It breeds suspicion, mistrust, alienation and fear. It promotes isolation, introversion and exclusion and sets up barriers to communication.

The following definitions are based on peoples' beliefs, not evidence. Therefore if any person indicates that a crime or incident is a Hate crime or incident, then we will treat it as such and act accordingly.

This presents a change of emphasis for both Police Officers and Support Staff, that signals the additional significance being placed on this category of crime or incident.

Racist Incidents

"Any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person."

This definition is designed to ensure we take full account of not only what the victim says, but their own perceptions and the perceptions of those who may have witnessed the incident and reported it or are aware of the circumstances, This means that if any person feels that an incident is racially motivated, then it should be recorded as such and like all incidents be properly investigated.

Religious Incidents

"Any incident which is perceived to be motivated by hostility based on a persons religious belief or lack of religious belief, by the victim or any other person."

Religious incidents are relatively new on the hate crime side of things. Several perceived religions have always been covered by virtue of the Race Relations Act 1976, namely Jews and Sikhs, as followers of both of these cultures have been deemed ethnic groups in their own right as they are more of a way of life than just a religion alone.

The advent of Racially Aggravated offences also had implications for the followers of many religions. Guidance notes clearly indicated that a Hindu for example could be the victim of a racially aggravated offence if the offender had punched him in the face calling him a Muslim swine. Neither Hindus or Muslims are covered by the legislation yet it could be shown that the offender selected his victim on appearance alone, making an (inaccurate) assumption that his victim was a Muslim due to the colour of his skin. Therefore even though the offence was not directly catered for under the then current legislation, a case could be proven based on the stereotypical views held by the offender.

The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 amended Section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Racially aggravated offences) to include Religiously aggravated offences. All offences that could previously be racially aggravated can now also be religiously aggravated and the sentencing powers for both are identical.

Homophobic and Transphobic Incidents

The ACPO definition of a Homophobic Incident:

"Any incident which is perceived to be homophobic (i.e. motivated by animosity towards those people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) by the victim or any other person."

However, the transgender community do not always associate themselves with homophobia, and for this reason may report an incident as a transphobic incident. This can be defined as:

"Any incident which is perceived to be transphobic by the victim or any other person."

The CPS also identify transphobia as a hate crime and will support the police with prosecutions.

People who commit hate crime are rarely limited to a single issue. Crimes against transpeople are often motivated by homophobia. It is therefore important to correctly record the motivation for their crime. Officers must be aware that additional sensitivity relating to confidentiality must be recognised when dealing with such incidents.

Offences against property, including abusive graffiti to vehicles or to premises. A pattern of this would include anything from verbal abuse and assaults, or a combination of these factors, to damage to vehicles outside a gay club or to the premises themselves, may well be construed as a homophobic/transphobic incident or crime in the absence of explicit messages. A homophobic/transphobic incident does not have to have a victim who is lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. It is equally important from an intelligence perspective that the homophobic/transphobic element is recorded when heterosexual people are the victim of abuse, assault or property crime that has mis-targeted homophobic/transphobic motivation.

Policy

All hate crimes/incidents with an homophobic/transphobic motivation will be vigorously pursued, in partnership with other agencies and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community. In responding to incidents involving homophobic/transphobic motivation, we will deal promptly and effectively with such incidents, demonstrate a caring and sympathetic attitude to victims, in order to reduce the fear associated with this type of incident and to encourage and increase the confidence of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community to report incidents to the police.

Other hate crimes

It must be stressed that other forms of hate crimes against groups, groups within faiths (sectarianism), asylum seekers, disabled people, refugees, Romany peoples, Irish travellers and any other groups are of no less importance. The material in this guide is largely relevant to these too. The absence of specific references and examples in the text is no indication that the service is not concerned about these people and the crimes committed against them.