Reporting hate crime
Essex Police takes hate crime very seriously and we would
encourage you to report it to us.
It’s important to let us know about hate crime to give us a
chance to investigate and prevent anyone else being attacked or
insulted, yet many incidents go unreported out of fear or
embarrassment.
It’s okay to feel this way but please don’t feel to blame.
Everyone has the right to live their life free from abuse and
violence whoever they are. You don’t have to live with hate
crime.
Hate crime
units
We understand reporting hate crime is difficult but we have a team
of specially trained officers on hand to help. They will treat your
case with sensitivity and respect wishes for confidentiality.

Whether you chose to contact us is entirely up to you but the more
information we have, the more effectively our officers can work to
combat hate crime.
You can contact us to report hate crime by calling
101.
If you do not feel able to contact us directly there are other
options which you can read about below.
How else can I report hate
crime?
There are a number of ways to report hate crime if you don’t feel
able to contact police directly:
You can download a self reporting
form and hand it in at your local police station.
This is a way of reporting hate crime in the strictest confidence
whether you directly experienced, witnessed or are reporting it on
behalf of someone else.

Dealing with
your emotions can be difficult but most people find that talking
about it helps.
Victim Support
You do not have to give your name or address but please bear in
mind an officer will be unable to contact you if you choose to
remain anonymous.
You can also report hate crime to other organisations throughout
Essex, anonymously if you wish.
If you would rather not call the police, use the list below to find
out who else you can contact.
Braintree District Council Customer Service Centre
01376 552525
Website: www.braintree.gov.uk/
Epping Forest Hate Crime Incident Panel
01992 564005
Website: www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/
Greenfields Community Housing
This is service is run by Greenfields Community Housing and is
linked to Greenfields tenancy.
Phone: 01376 567300
E-mail: info@greenfieldsch.org.uk
Website: www.greenfieldsch.org.uk/
Thurrock Council Corporate Diversity Team
Works across Thurrock Council to promote diversity and tackle
inequality.
Phone: 01375 652472
E-mail: diversity@thurrock.gov.uk
Website: www.thurrock.gov.uk/
Action For Men
Works with gay and bisexual men around HIV, sexual health and
homophobia and supports lesbian and bisexual females around
homophobia. Action For Men also supports people who have been
affected by homophobia but are not lesbian, gay or bisexual.
Phone: 07798 608 106
E-mail: action4men@nhs.net
Website:www.action4men.org/
Another way of reporting hate crime is to do so online using a
website supported by police services across the Uk.

True Vision, a website that
launched in February 2011, allows visitors to report hate crime
using a form that is automatically delivered to the relevant police
force.
True Vision also sets out other ways of reporting hate crime for
people who do not want to talk directly to the police.
You can also report crime anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555
111.
What happens next?
When you report an incident one of our officers will
visit you, ask some questions and complete a questionnaire to
gather as much information as possible about the offence.
The officer will also help you make a statement. This not only
helps the officer decide on the appropriate course of action but
allows them to assess the risk posed to you by the offender and
offer the best support.
Try not to drink alcohol after the incident as it’s important
you can give a clear account of what has happened.
Your officer will help you come to terms with what has happened
and try to offer a solution to the problem. Although justice is
important, we do our best to understand your feelings, look at each
case individually and consider the wishes of everyone involved.
If the case does go to court you will be kept up to date every
step of the way and offered support by your officer and support
organisations whose staff are all trained to deal sensitively with
hate crime.
Sometimes it’s not possible to take the case to court even if
you wish to but that doesn’t mean we can’t help. Our officers have
close links with local and national support groups who can offer
support, guidance and advice during difficult times.
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