Notts police back campaign to stop hate crimes

Nottinghamshire Police has shown its support to try and stamp out hate crimes towards travelling communities.

#OperationReportHate is a national campaign to raise awareness of hate crimes against the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities.

Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: “The force takes all reports of hate crime extremely seriously and would encourage any victims to report it.”

The aim of the campaign will be to highlight the work of organisations working with the communities to improve reporting rates and share good practice and resources.

The end goal is for hate crimes against the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities to be given the same public profile and recognition as other hate crimes.

A spokesman for The Traveller Movement said: “Since the EU referendum result there has been an alarming increase in the number of hate crimes and the Gypsy, Traveller and Roma communities have been victims of such offences.

“Hate crimes against Gypsies and Travellers are also underreported, which means these crimes remain the lowest of priorities.

“Hate crimes hurt the victim and the rest of the community too. By reporting a hate crime you may stop it from happening to someone else.

“If we want more to be done to protect us and our families, we need to prove how big the problem is. The more hate crimes that we report, the more seriously they will be taken.”

Report hate crime by calling 101 (or 999 in an emergency) or click here.