Roger received harassment from his neighbours for a number of months.
Roger has mental health issues and suspected his neighbours were targeting him because of this. His neighbours would knock on his door in the middle of the night, and leave offensive and abusive written messages for him to find.
Roger felt intimidated by this behaviour and was concerned that reporting this directly to the police might result in an escalation of his neighbours' behaviour. He was made aware by a local support service that there are places other than police stations to report hate; Hate Incident Reporting
Roger was concerned that reporting this directly to the police might result in an escalation of his neighbours' behaviour
Have you been affected by Hate crime?
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Centres, or ‘HIRCs’, which are located inside existing services such as Councils, libraries, or local charities, so that victims and witnesses can report incidents without engaging directly with police.
Roger visited his local HIRC with a supporter, where the details were taken in a neutral and comfortable environment by a trained member of staff. The HIRC staff member advised that the details could be sent directly to the police or that Roger could submit information anonymously online using ‘True Vision’ – www.report-it.org.uk
Roger was able to report his hate crime without attending a police station or having uniformed officers attend his address. There are HIRCs like the one that Roger visited all around the county. A full list of these can be found on www.stopthehate.org.uk . They can offer advice and support around reporting a hate crime or hate incident and ensure you get the help you need.