Hate Crime Policy

We define a hate incident / crime as:

"Any incident, which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, which is perceived by the victim or any other person**, as being motivated by prejudice or hate."

-ACPO Good Practice and Tactical Guidance on Hate Crime 2005

**If a third party perceives an incident to be motivated by prejudice or hate then this same definition will apply.

Repeat victimisation of hate crime occurs:

"Where a person or immediate family member suffers more than one hate incident in a 12-month period following the date the first crime was reported".

-Home Office & ACPO 2005

Hate incidents / crime is hatred, bias or prejudice that is based upon the actual or perceived age, gender, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or appearance.

Hate incidents / crimes can occur in a variety of forms; examples include, but are not limited to the following:

• Physical assault
• Bullying
• Harassment
• Verbal abuse, insults and threats
• Abuse through social media / cyber.
• Damage to property or personal belongings.
• Threatening or abusive behaviour including spitting, ridicule of cultural differences, arson or attempted arson, offensive jokes or comments.

Behaviour identified as harassment but not a hate incident / crime will be dealt with through our Anti-Social Behaviour policy, but when we receive a report our initial call handling templates will seek to establish if hate is a likely motivator.

Mate crime is defined as the exploitation, abuse or theft from any vulnerable person by those they may consider to be their friends.  Those that commit such abuse or theft are often referred to as 'fake friends'.  For instances of 'mate crime' please refer to the Safeguarding Adults and Children policy and referral process if applicable.

Mate crime may involve the following:

• Financial Abuse - where the perpetrator might demand or ask to be lent money or property and then not pay it back / return it.
• Physical Abuse - where the person may be assaulted or seriously injured by the perpetrator, possibly for the amusement of the perpetrator.
• Emotional Abuse - where the perpetrator might manipulate or mislead the person, make them feel worthless, call them names or groom the person for criminal offences.
• Sexual Abuse - the person might be coerced into prostitution, sexually exploited by someone they think is their partner or friend or might be persuaded to perform sexual acts they do not feel comfortable with.

Under the Equality Act 2010 Amplius has a general duty to have due regard to the need to:

• Eliminate the unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Act.
• Advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristics and persons who do not share it.
• Foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristics and persons who do not share it.
• Removing or minimising disadvantages suffered by people due to their protected characteristics.
• Taking steps to meet the needs of people from protected groups where these are different from the needs of other people.
• Encouraging people from protected groups to participate where their level of participation is particularly low.

In responding to reports of a hate incident / crime we will:

• Adopt a victim-led approach in dealing with hate crimes, which means that if a person or a third party feels that they or someone else has experience a hate crime we will deal with it under this policy.
• Talk to victims and agree the action to be taken and encourage them to report incidents to the Police to pursue the possibility of a criminal investigation.
• Review any potential vulnerability and the risk of harm to the victim.
• Offer victims and complainants support through our own colleagues but will also try to engage more specialist support services.
• Adapt our response to the individual circumstances and needs of the victim, recognising that every reported hate incident / crime will be different.

Hate crime legislation allows for a third party to report and indeed stand as a witness to a hate crime where they have witnessed the incident.  Where we receive a report from a third party, we will investigate the incident, ensuring that interaction takes place with the victim(s) as well as the third party.  The views of the victim will be taken into account, however, should they not wish to pursue the matter this will not necessarily prevent us from taking appropriate action where the third party is willing to provide evidence and be a witness.

Victims will be encouraged to allow us to share information with other agencies, including the Police and local authority, to ensure that the full range of civil and criminal action can be pursued, and appropriate support provided.  However, all information provided by the victim will be treated with the utmost confidence and only passed to external agencies where we are required by law to do so, and in accordance with the Data Protection Act 2018.

Where we do not have the victims' consent and we consider there is a high risk of serious harm to anyone involved, we may make a report to the Police without the victim's consent.  The Director of Customer Operations will approve any such disclosure.

All colleagues are responsible for ensuring the policy is incorporated into their working practices.

Appropriate training will be given to colleagues to raise their awareness and to equip them to implement this policy and its related procedures effectively.

Amplius is committed to E,D&I and such will make reasonable adjustments to the policy to recognise, accommodate and support individual needs, where needed. The policy adheres to Amplius’s approach to Equality and Diversity. Amplius members will take a proactive approach to ensure that no individual or group is discriminated against or treated differently as a direct or indirect result of this policy

Amplius recognises that, for various reasons, some of our customers and service users may be vulnerable. Policies therefore will take account of the recommendations made by the Housing Ombudsman and Regulatory recommendations on vulnerabilities. Amplius will take a proactive approach when making a decision relating to a customer or service user and where practicable, tailor and adapt our services to suit the needs of customers and support vulnerable people.

There are no local variations applicable to this policy.

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