Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner and its Chief Constable have spoken out to reassure our communities following reports elsewhere in the country of incidents of post-referendum hate crimes being committed.
Police forces in other parts of the country are investigating reports of hate crimes which may be directly related to the vote to leave the EU.
Both Lord Willy Bach and Simon Cole have today said that all hate crime, whatever its motivation, will not be tolerated and reports of any such crimes in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland are treated extremely seriously.
The Force regularly monitors any fluctuations in hate crime (as we do in all crime types) in order to identify any emerging spikes and any particular areas which require additional focus and operational attention. To date, there has been no increase in such crimes being reported to us in the force area when we compare figures for the last few days with previous weeks.
Lord Bach said: “I recognise that the result of the referendum has caused some anxiety and uncertainty about the future. At such a time, the Chief Constable and I are keen to do all we can to reassure all sections of our diverse communities.
“On Monday morning the Chief briefed me on the potential for hate crimes and incidents following the referendum vote. I take such issues extremely seriously and I urge our local communities to support each other and to report any instances to either the police on 101 or to True Vision, regardless of what may have motivated such crimes.
Chief Constable Cole said: “The communities in both the city of Leicester and in the counties of Leicestershire and Rutland have richly deserved reputations for being happy, harmonious and cohesive, and we must all work together to ensure that continues to be the case.
Anyone who witnesses, or is a victim, of a hate crime should contact the Police on 101 or via True Vision http://www.report-it.org.uk/home
You may also find useful information at http://www.stamp-it-out.co.uk/ , which reflects our partnership approach across LLR.
The Force has a specific section on this website about hate crime and incidents - https://leics.police.uk/categories/hate-crime
Posted on Tuesday 28th June 2016