Hate crimes

Hate Crime is when someone is verbally or physically abused simply because they are disabled or because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, gender or appearance.

Racial harassment

We will not tolerate racial harassment towards any of our tenants or leaseholders.

We have been working with black and minority residents to raise awareness of how to report incidents, let people know about our Racial Harassment Police, and to listen and learn about how we can improve our services in this area.

Homophobic hate crime

Homophobia is a hate crime and is the irrational hatred, intolerance and fear of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. It is often expressed visibly and audibly, but also sometimes violently.

Homophobic crime can affect anyone that is known or perceived to be a lesbian, gay man, bisexual or transgender (LGBT).

Homophobic crime can happen anywhere and is often based on prejudice and stereotypes. We will take very seriously any homophobic crime and will act on all reports received. You should also report this to the police, as it is illegal to harass.

Incidents can include bullying, harassment, assault, verbal abuse, name calling, damage to property and graffiti.

If you are a victim of homophobic crime, or have witnessed a homophobic incident, you can make a difference by reporting it.

We will do everything possible to identify the offender and take appropriate action.

This can include:

• prosecution in court
• collecting evidence so that an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) can be obtained, banning the offender from behaving in a certain way or from certain parts of the borough
• using Anti-Social Behaviour Injunctions or other methods to ensure offenders change their behaviour
• if the homophobic behaviour is committed by a tenant, we can evict them

​How to report hate crime

You can report racial harassment/hate crime in a number of ways:

• complete our online housing contact form
• after hours and on weekends, you can report ASB: 01708 756699
• text relay phone: 18001 01708 434343

Information about reporting hate crime is available in English and 32 community languages upon request to Stop Hate UK.