Member Article

Launch of West Yorkshire Hate Crime Reporting App

Stop Hate UK is pleased to announce the launch of a new Hate Crime Reporting App. Its aim is to aid witnesses and those targeted because of their identity, throughout West Yorkshire, to report incidents of Hate Crime and be able to access information and advice about Hate Crime services.

Development of the App has been made possible by funding from the Police and Crime Commissioner of West Yorkshire, as part of the Supporting Victims of Hate Crime Fund.

Rose Simkins, Chief Executive of Stop Hate UK said:

“This is an exciting new service giving West Yorkshire residents and visitors greater choice to report Hate Crime. The new App complements our own helplines and other reporting channels and, by capturing images of incidents, can provide the additional evidence needed to successfully investigate incidents. The information in the App about Hate Crime and other partner agencies within West Yorkshire will help people seek help as and when they are ready to do so – be that immediately after an incident or when they feel ready.“

We would like to thank the Office of the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner for supporting the development of the App and for demonstrating their commitment to achieving sustainable Hate Crime services.

Rose continued:

“All forms of Hate Crime are significantly under-reported. Some individuals and communities are reluctant or unwilling to talk to the police or their council. The App gives victims and witnesses a safe and independent way to tell our charity, Stop Hate UK, about their experiences and to explore their options for taking things further.“

People can report via the App anonymously if they prefer but where consent is given, we will work with others to find the best possible solution to the issues raised.

The App can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App Store and Google Play by searching for ’Stop Hate UK’ on either platform.

We’re also pleased to say that the advent of the App has recently been highlighted in an article in The Yorkshire Post and its launch seems particularly timely and, moreover, somehow more poignant, given the recent sad and very tragic events in the USA, which saddened and shocked us all so deeply.

The charity, whose Patron is Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon OBE, of Clarendon in the Commonwealth Realm of Jamaica; and ambassadors are Canon Mark Oakley of St Paul’s Cathedral and Great Britain athlete Adrian Derbyshire set up the Stop Hate Line in 2006 as a direct response to Recommendation 16 of the Macpherson Report (the enquiry into the handling of the death of Stephen Lawrence) which states that victims and witnesses should be able to report Hate Incidents 24 hours a day and to someone other than the police.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Andy Opie .