Police have joined Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council to support Hate Crime Awareness Week.

The week, which ran October 12 to 19, aims to raise awareness of hate crime and to encourage councils, key partners including schools, and communities to tackle hate crime.

A hate crime is any crime that is targeted against a person because of their disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

Two joint events were held by the council and the Welwyn Hatfield Neighbourhood Policing Team, across Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield.

On Tuesday (October 15), officers and council partners hosted a stall in the Howard Centre. They spoke to residents to explain what a hate crime is and how they can be reported.

Leaflets with useful information were issued and there were also free tote bags on offer with the important message ‘Don’t ignore hate. Report it.’

Residents could also learn more about the council’s third party reporting centre. It allows victims of hate crime to make a report via the council rather than going directly to the police.

On Thursday (October 17), the teams joined together again to host a stall at The Galleria.

Inspector Amy Sheldon, from the Welwyn Hatfield Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Hate Crime Awareness Week is a good opportunity for us to remind the public about what hate crimes are and the help that is available for victims. Within the constabulary, we have dedicated Hate Crime Officers who can provide specialist support.

“Hate crimes can have a severe impact on victims and also on the wider community in which they occur. We are determined to make sure everybody feels safe in Welwyn Hatfield and we will continue working in conjunction with the council to achieve this.

“We encourage victims to report hate crime to us but if you would rather not speak to police directly, it is a great idea to use the council’s third party reporting centre instead.”

Councillor Sandreni Bonfante, executive member for environment, said: “Hate crime is generally under reported due to a lack of awareness of what hate crime is so it was great that the council and police worked together on these community engagement events. 

“Hate crimes are serious crimes and should not be tolerated in today’s society.  I would encourage anyone that has been harassed, abused or assaulted because of who they are or what they believe in, to report what has happened to them to the police or if they feel more comfortable, by talking to Hate Crime Champions at the council. 

"I can assure residents that every victim of hate crime will be treated with the utmost sensitivity by council staff and each case will be taken extremely seriously.”

You can report hate crime online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator via online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101.

In an emergency, always call 999.

To report a hate crime to the council, you can go to their office in Welwyn Garden City during opening hours and ask to speak to a Hate Crime Champion.

For more information and support visit hertsagainsthate.org.