You should report hate crime if you've been a victim yourself, or witnessed a hate crime incident.

A 'hate incident' is defined as such if the victim, or anyone else, thinks the motivation for a person being targeted is because of their:

  • disability
  • race
  • religion
  • sexual orientation
  • gender identity

Examples of hate incidents are:

  • verbal abuse
  • harassment, bullying or intimidation
  • physical attacks
  • hoax calls, abusive telephone or text messages, hate mail
  • online abuse

When 'hate incidents' become criminal offences, they are known as 'hate crimes'. Any criminal offence can be a hate crime if it was carried out because of hostility or prejudice based on a person's disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Examples of hate crimes are:

Report hate crime by telephone

Report hate crime by calling one of the following organisations:

  • the police on 999 in an emergency, or 101 in a non-emergency
  • Supporting Victims on telephone: 01609 643100 (Monday to Friday, 8.00am to 6.00pm)

Report hate crime online

Contact the following organisations online, who also provide support and advice:

Start Safe, Stay Safe app

A new app lets you report harassment or hate crime, and get support. On it you can:

  • report anonymously
  • access specialist support
  • capture audio, video and picture evidence
  • report the incident for formal investigation by police or council

Download the Start Safe, Stay Safe app from Apple Store or Google Play. Find more guidance on support and reporting hate crime.

Also see

Communities Team

West Offices, Station Rise, York, YO1 6GA

Telephone: 01904 551832