If there is any danger or risk to life, a crime is in progress or the attendance of the police is urgent, dial 999.

 

Welcome to Report Hate Crime, a website developed by the BME Network, a Middlesbrough based infrastructure organisation providing Information, Advice, Guidance and Support to Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and Refugee Communities residing in the Tees Valley (UK).

This website aims to provide a convenient mechanism to report hate crime for those who live and work in Middlesbrough (England), whilst highlighting successful cases of hate crime prosecution carried by Crown Prosecution Service (Cleveland).

The BME Network is a member of the Middlesbrough Reducing Hate Crime Case Group, a multiagency forum tackling hate crimes in Middlesbrough. All incidents that are reported by victims or witnesses will be forwarded to Cleveland Police for action and to the Case Group for monitoring. If you live outside the Cleveland Police Force area then please report your incident at www.report-it.org.uk or your local Police Force.

This site can used to report any hate crime incident (race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability), however there a number of specialist reporting centres specifically for BME & LGBT communities which will provide an initial point of contact for victims of hate crime, including racial incidents, crime against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.  With the permission of the victim information obtained will then be shared with the Cleveland Police and/or relevant organisations such as Victim Support and the local authority housing department. Victims can also report a crime anonymously. Officers will then log the information for intelligence purposes only to give a clearer picture of crime patterns.

Victims of hate crime are sometimes reluctant to visit a police station and the specialist community based reporting centres will mean they can report crime in a neutral atmosphere to a trained adviser.

Even if people choose to report crime anonymously it will help us to build up a picture of problem areas and we can target resources accordingly.

POLICE have vowed to clamp down on hate crimes across Teesside after claims two people were targeted through social networking sites.

The Safer Middlesbrough Partnership and partner agencies operate a monthly Hate Crime Case Group to tackle harassment.

A hate crime is any criminal offence motivated by hostility or prejudice based on the victom’s disability, race, religion or belief, sexual orientatio or transgender.

Recently the group dealt with two reported cases of internet- based hate crime after the victims were targeted through social networking sites because of their race or religious backgrounds.