Report a hate crime or incident

Find out what a hate crime or incident is, how to report it and what we are doing to prevent it.

Hate crimes and incidents

You are a victim of a hate crime or incident if someone has targeted a crime at you or behaved badly towards you because of your:

  • race or ethnicity
  • disability
  • religion or belief
  • sexual orientation
  • transgender identity

These are known as protected characteristics.

Even if you do not have a protected characteristic, you could still be a victim of a hate crime or incident if someone targets you because they think you belong to any of these categories.

You should contact the police for any crime, including if someone:

  • was violent towards you
  • threatened you
  • intimidated you
  • harassed you
  • damaged your property

Report a hate crime by calling the police on:

101 (or 999 in an emergency)

Incidents you can report include if someone:

  • verbally abused you
  • made negative comments about you (including on social media)
  • directed antisocial behaviour at you
  • was hostile towards you
You can also report a hate incident if you were a witness and not the victim.

Report a hate crime or incident

Reporting to Leeds City Council

When you make a report to us, we will ask you:

  • when and where the incident happened
  • details of any witnesses
  • anything that would help us identify the person who targeted you
  • whether the person that targeted you is under 18

Online

Report a hate crime External link

Phone

0113 222 4402 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)

In person

You can also make a report in person at any hate incident reporting centre.

Hate incident reporting centres

Community hubs and libraries

You can make a report at any of the Leeds City Council community hubs and libraries:  

Third Party hate incident reporting centres

You can also make a report in person at the following organisations who act as Third Party hate incident reporting centres:  

  
  

Reporting to West Yorkshire Police

You can report to West Yorkshire Police by:

Stop Hate UK

Stop Hate UK is a leading anti-hate and anti-discrimination organisation for corporate, statutory, and community sectors.  

Stop Hate UK offer a dedicated 24-hour anti-Hate Crime reporting service for all monitored strands of a person's identity or perceived identity. Stop Hate UK help you report a hate crime, receive support before, during and after and to help you understand the process.  

You can report a hate crime online.  

True Vision

True Vision is police-funded website where you can report a hate crime. The police will record and investigate this offence even if you do not want to give your details.  

Through the Community Security Trust (CST)

If you are the victim of an antisemitic incident or you have information regarding an antisemitic incident that happened to somebody else you can contact CST.  

An antisemitic incident is any malicious act aimed at Jewish people, organisations or property, where there is evidence that the incident has antisemitic motivation or content, or that the victim was targeted because they are (or are believed to be) Jewish.  

CST has a dedicated team that deals with antisemitic incidents and provides victim support, while respecting confidentiality at all times. CST can liaise with the police and other bodies to help ensure that any incident is dealt with properly.  

Tell Mama

Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks (MAMA) is a secure and reliable service that allows people from across England to report any form of Anti-Muslim abuse.  

Tell Mama have created a unique portal where you may address your concerns and record any incident that you experience as a result of your Muslim faith or someone perceiving you to be Muslim.  

Reporting an incident can be done by phone, email, text, Facebook or Twitter. Once your information is secured, a trained case worker will call you to discuss the issue further and ensure they all the details they require to record the incident accurately and offer support. Report to Tell Mama online.  

Leeds GATE

If you are a Gypsy or Traveller and you have been a victim of a hate crime or hate incident, Leeds GATE have a dedicated Criminal Justice and Hate Crime worker who can support you on what to do next and how to report.  

Contact Leeds GATE on 0113 240 2444 to speak with our team, or email contact@leedsgate.co.uk.  

Hate incident reporting in schools

Schools and learning settings can report hate incidents to Stop Hate UK who are commissioned by Leeds City Council.

Reporting hate incidents and crimes in schools remains very important and helps to reinforce the city’s commitment to addressing discrimination and intolerance and our commitment to being a Child Friendly City.

Stop Hate UK have created a referral form schools can use for the purpose of hate incident reporting.

If you have reported a hate crime and want to know how it is being dealt with, you can request a review known as the ASB review process.

What we are doing to prevent hate crimes and incidents

Islamophobia survey and report

In 2020, we carried out a survey carried that explored public familiarity with anti-Muslim hatred or prejudices, experiences, witnessing and actions taken as a result of these in Leeds. We appointed the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social relations, based at Coventry University to independently analyse the findings of this online survey. A final report sets out the key findings and recommendations.   

Anti-Muslim prejudice definition

The survey also assisted us in identifying the preferred terminology for a local definition of anti-Muslim prejudice. Since the findings of the survey were revealed, we worked with key stakeholders in the Muslim community as well as other strategic partners who all stated their preference for a local definition suitable for Muslims.  

The term Anti-Muslim prejudice was favoured rather than Islamophobia as the latter translates into a fear of Islam whereas we are, in the main, seeing discrimination against individuals due to them possessing the perceived characteristics of a Muslim.  

In October 2022, members of our executive board formally approved the following definition:  

'Anti-Muslim Prejudice is direct or indirect hatred and discrimination against anyone of Islamic faith on grounds of their belief and practice. This could manifest in:  

  • Inciting or carrying out acts of racism, hatred and violence against people, and those perceived to be, of the Islamic faith (Muslims).
  • Direct or indirect acts of discrimination and exclusion including policy and practice within organisations, which deny Muslims legitimate, fair and equal access to opportunities, facilities and services because of their faith, beliefs and practice.
  • Denying people of the Islamic faith the opportunity to practise their faith values, free of harassment, fear of violence against them or fear of incurring discrimination and hatred against them.
  • Actions which perpetuate a climate of mistrust, fear and a sense of marginalisation about or within the Islamic community for example, remarks by individuals and groups that can be made without fear of being held to account. Also use of print, social or electronic media to align and create fear and division surrounding the Muslim community.'
  

Anti-Muslim prejudice working group

Leeds City Council and partners across the city have shown a willingness to work together to protect people in Leeds from experiencing Islamophobia. We all have a responsibility to challenge attitudes and behaviours that foster hatred to ensure communities feel safe.  

In response to the findings of the survey, a council-led strategic stakeholder group focused on anti-Muslim hatred was established to take forward the recommendations of the report and to develop an action plan.

Anti-Muslim prejudice action plan

The main actions from the Anti-Muslim prejudice action plan are to:  

  • raise awareness and understanding around the seriousness and scale of anti-Muslim prejudice in Leeds
  • train and educate front line (and other) staff, in an inter-agency way
  • investigate under-reporting and improve reporting
  • prevent hate crime through collective work to tackle prejudice in all communities, enhance understanding between people, in a way that brings residents together and builds shared ideas, aspirations and hope around Leeds as the uniting factor
  • strengthen understanding, depth and nuance around the issues and the data

Anti-Semitism

We have adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism which is 'a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of anti-Semitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.'  

The IHRA definition specifies eleven 'contemporary examples of anti-Semitism' in public life, the media, schools, the workplace, and in the religious sphere which could, taking into account the overall context, include but are not limited to:  

  • calling for, aiding, or justifying the killing or harming of Jews in the name of a radical ideology or an extremist view of religion
  • making mendacious, dehumanising, demonising, or stereotypical allegations about Jews as such or the power of Jews as a collective — such as, especially but not exclusively, the myth about a world Jewish conspiracy or of Jews controlling the media, economy, government or other societal institutions
  • accusing Jews as a people of being responsible for real or imagined wrongdoing committed by a single Jewish person or group, or even for acts committed by non-Jews
  • denying the fact, scope, mechanisms (e.g. gas chambers) or intentionality of the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of National Socialist Germany and its supporters and accomplices during World War II (the Holocaust)
  • accusing the Jews as a people, or Israel as a state, of inventing or exaggerating the Holocaust
  • accusing Jewish citizens of being more loyal to Israel, or to the alleged priorities of Jews worldwide, than to the interests of their own nations
  • denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, for example, by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour
  • applying double standards by requiring of it a behaviour not expected or demanded of any other democratic nation
  • using the symbols and images associated with classic anti-Semitism (such as claims of Jews killing Jesus or blood libel) to characterise Israel or Israelis
  • drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis
  • holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel

Awareness campaigns

Hate Crime Awareness Week

Hate Crime Awareness Week is a national week of action to encourage local authorities, key partners and communities affected by hate crime to work together to tackle local hate crime.

Throughout the week which takes place in October each year, the Safer Stronger Communities team coordinate a series of activities and training sessions in collaboration with West Yorkshire Police and other partners across the city.

If you are interested in delivering activities as part of Hate Crime Awareness Week contact hatecrime@leeds.gov.uk.

Islamophobia Awareness Month

Islamophobia Awareness Month (IAM) is a campaign founded in 2012 by a group of Muslim organisations. It aims to showcase the positive contributions of Muslims as well as raise awareness of Islamophobia in society.

Throughout the month which takes place in November each year, the Safer Stronger Communities team coordinate a series of activities and training sessions in collaboration with statutory and third sector partners across the city.

If you are interested in delivering activities as part of Islamophobia Awareness Month contact hatecrime@leeds.gov.uk.


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