Hate crime
What is hate crime?
Hate crime is an incident that targets someone based on their social identity. This could be because of:
- disability
- gender identity
- race, ethnicity, or nationality
- religion, faith, or belief
- sexual orientation
Hate crimes can take place anywhere - in person, digitally, or online. They include:
- verbal abuse
- threatening behaviour
- damage to property
- physical assault
- offensive graffiti
- offensive comments or images on social media or text messages
Reporting hate crime
You can report hate crime to us (Berneslai Homes) directly by:
- Completing our online form - with the word HATE and the problem you want to report
- Phoning us on 01226 787878
If your report is made after the close of business Friday, it will be picked up on the following Monday.
In person at a Barnsley Council location:
- Visit any of Barnsley Council's libraries.
- Visit Barnsley Council's Adult Skills service in Wellington House.
Online or phone to Barnsley Council:
- Send an email to safer@barnsley.gov.uk with the word HATE in the subject line
- Call 01226 773555
To South Yorkshire Police:
- In an emergency call 999 and ask for the police
- If it's not an emergency call 101
- Report hate crime to South Yorkshire Police online.
View Barnsley Council's easy read guide to reporting hate and harassment.
Once you’ve reported hate crime
We'll contact you to talk about what we can do to make you feel safer. We usually do this within one working day. We'll make a referral to the Safer Neighbourhood Service who may ask their liaison officers or victim support to talk to you. Once the referral has been sent to the Safer Neighbourhood Service, an allocated professional will be identified to be your point of contact through the investigation.
The allocated professional will investigate the incident so the most appropriate action can be taken. This could include:
- prosecution
- restorative justice
- enforcement action by Berneslai Homes
- a warning
What are the response times?
If there is a report of a racial/hate incident, if there is a risk of violence, or if there's damage to your property, we'll contact the reporter within 1 working day.
Frequently asked questions about reporting hate crime
Yes. If you witness a hate incident you can report this. You can report it even if you don’t know the name of the person it happened to.
Yes you can, although it may make it difficult to investigate.