Hate Crimes

What is a 'hate crime'?

"A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person."

"A hate crime is any criminal offence committed against a person or property that is motivated by the offenders' hate against people because of their sex, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation. A victim of hate crime does not have to be either a member of a minority group or someone who is generally considered to be a 'vunerable person'."

Hate crime and MMUnion

The Students' Union is a safe space for all regardless of race, sex/gender, religion, disability or sexuality. We believe that safe space should be extended as far and wide as possible and that this can only be done by people actively working to make change. Reporting something small may not seem like a lot but, at the very least, the police need accurate reporting and statistics to enable them to focus their resources more appropriately. By reporting vandalism or graffiti, harassment, violence and other crime you are helping to make that change.

To that end, we encourage you to report all crime to the police as soon as possible and believe it is particularly important for hate crimes. If you do not feel comfortable approaching the police, we act as an anonymous hate crime reporting centre for Greater Manchester Police. To speak to someone in complete confidentiality, contact the Advice Centre.

If you do not wish to talk to anyone about the incident, Greater Manchester Police have an online form for reporting hate crime.