Hate crime – the enemy of inclusion
Housing providers have an important role to play in stopping hate crime and creating harmonious, multicultural communities
GOVERNANCE
Image: Istock
Jill Haley
Former CEO, Byker Community Trust, and newly elected Vice-President, Chartered Institute of Housing
In the year ending March 2021, 124,091 hate crimes were recorded by the police in England and Wales and the majority of these were racially motivated (92,052). This was a 9% increase compared with the previous year, despite Coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
We live and work in multicultural and diverse communities, where everyone has the right to be treated with respect, with equal rights and dignity underpinned by a legal framework. Despite this, hate crimes persist, undermining basic human rights and creating divisions in society.
While the housing sector is working hard to eradicate prejudice and discrimination in our neighbourhoods in order to ensure fair treatment and opportunity for all, hate crime is increasing.
Growing problem
Housing providers are ideally placed and equipped to root out, challenge and stop hate crime in its tracks. The enforcement powers that social housing providers have in their armoury – such as repossession or injunction – are often more effective than police action.
What is hate crime?
Hate crimes and hate incidents occur when someone is abusive, harasses you, makes threats or is violent towards you because of your identity.
There are five monitored strands:
74%
of hate crimes recorded in the year ending March 2021 were racially motivated
As well these five strands, a category of ‘other’ hate crimes covers hostility/abuse directed towards age, gender, caste or 'alternative sub-culture', based on their own characteristics. For example, the 2007 murder of 20-year-old Goth, Sophie Lancaster in Lancashire.
The importance of reporting
Hate incidents can feel like crimes to those who suffer them. People can be subjected to verbal, physical and psychological abuse, leaving them scared, isolated and at risk of mental ill health.
Some incidents may even escalate to crimes or tension within a community, where they can have a devastating impact.
Reporting hate crime incidents may help prevent them from happening to someone else and will help the police to understand the extent of hate crime in a local area (see above links).
The legal framework
Hate crime can be committed against a person or property and there is no single piece of legislation criminalising hate crime. Instead, there are three different ways in which the law deals with hate crime:
- aggravated forms of certain offences – such as assault or criminal damage – motivated by hatred on the grounds of race or religion;
- enhanced sentences for offenders who are motivated by hatred on the grounds of race, religion, disability, sexual orientation or transgender status;
- offences of stirring up hatred based on race, religion or sexual orientation.
“Tenancy enforcement action against hate crime can be highly effective – losing a home can be a far greater deterrent than a criminal sanction.”
Role for housing providers
Multi-agency community initiatives, in partnership with the police, schools, council, community-based organisations and residents, are a very effective way of preventing hate crime from occurring and for dealing with it proficiently when it does. In my experience, when using this proactive partnership intervention approach in Byker, Newcastle, the overall anti-social behaviour (ASB) numbers plummeted by 80%.
Often, staff working on the ground witness or are made aware of hate crime first. Staff working as part of a multi-agency approach will be at the centre of a key stakeholder network, whereby everyone works together, to communicate, educate and eradicate hate crime in the area.
Tenancy enforcement action against hate crime (e.g. injunction or possession), can be highly effective – losing a home can be a far greater deterrent than a criminal sanction.
Actions that housing providers can take to proactively reduce hate crime include:
- Review tenancy agreements and ASB policies to prohibit hate crime.
- Introduce organisational policies and procedures to support victims and witnesses of hate crime and to deal with it in a consistent way.
- Host multi-agency training and raise awareness activities within the workplace, local schools and the community, which can become the catalyst for further conversations and projects. The positive change that schools can bring in relation to hate incidents cannot be underestimated.
- Set up a Young People’s Partnership and discuss a range of community challenges that are of interest to the group. Put hate crime on the agenda and empower the group to take ownership of it, to change behaviours, narratives and the perception of hate crime in their community.
- Introduce and promote hate crime communication campaigns to staff, tenants and community groups, who can then signpost and educate about hate crime.
- Encourage and increase the reporting of hate incidents by residents to the police, by widely publishing local police contacts, numbers etc. in and around community buildings.
We must tackle hate crime head-on if we truly intend to embrace equality, diversity and inclusion. Housing providers are well-placed to contribute to this crucial effort.
