Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Lord Willy Bach today issued a rallying call to the nation to “stand up and be counted” as part of a powerful anti-hate campaign.
The PCC, alongside fellow PCCs, Chief Constables, justice partners and the general public have come together to publicly condemn the scourge that is hate crime by taking part in a nationwide social media campaign called The Big Link-up.
The Big Link-up marks National Hate Crime Awareness Week and sees public figures, organisations and individuals demonstrating their support against hate crime by posting “selfies” or group shots of themselves’ holding a copy of the #NO2HATE sign.
Lord Bach joined PCCs from across the nation in a photo of defiance, shared across social media with the hashtag #NO2HATE.
Willy Bach said: “The whole idea behind this campaign is to show our solidarity and unity in fighting hatred. With the nation’s PCCs coming together as one, we are sending out a powerful message to our communities that those who breed hatred and contempt are the minority and will find no place in our society.
“Every year, National Hate Crime Awareness Week gets bigger and better and reaches a wider audience. It is a fantastic opportunity to show victims of this awful crime how serious we treat their experiences and encourages more people to come forward and get help if they haven’t already done so.
“Equally, it highlights how repugnant society views this crime and leaves perpetrators in no doubt that their actions will be condemned and punished using the full arm of the law.
“I’m pleased to see ‘The Big Link-up’ receiving strong support and appeal to anyone who works with the public, including our youth leaders, volunteers and criminal justice partners as well as residents themselves to join us throughout the week in this symbolic rejection of hate crime.”
Hate Crime Awareness Week takes place between October 13 and 20.
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Posted on Monday 15th October 2018