CAMPAIGN TO HIT HOME HATE CRIME MESSAGE

Stop Hate UK have joined forces with  West Yorkshire Police and  the city’s crime and disorder reduction partnership Safer Leeds to place hundreds of stickers in taxis and private hire vehicles across the west of the city.

Carrying the message “Hate/Racism will not be tolerated in this vehicle”, the stickers are designed to deter hate crime and encourage those who are victims to report it to the police.

Posters are also being used in local takeaways and other night-time businesses to warn offenders that hate crime is taken very seriously and offenders will be prosecuted.

Inspector Mark Bownass, of the West Inner Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Hate crime has a really damaging impact on individual victims and affects positive relationships between different sections of our communities and, as such, cannot be tolerated.

“We treat all hate incidents very seriously and investigate them to the fullest possible extent with the aim of taking the strongest possible action against those involved. It is totally unacceptable for people to subject others to abuse, harassment or even physical attacks on the basis of their race, religion, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation.

“We hope this campaign sends the message out loud and clear and makes people think twice and realise that their actions could ultimately end with a criminal conviction. We also hope is helps to give victims the confidence to come forward and report any incidents either directly to the police or through partner agencies like Stop Hate UK.”

Councillor Peter Gruen, chair of Safer Leeds, said: “Hate crime will not be tolerated in Leeds. We are a city which prides itself on equality and taxi drivers and everyone else involved in the city’s night time economy deserve to be treated with the same respect as everyone else. This campaign is sending a clear message that hate crimes and abuse are taken seriously and that the strongest possible action will be taken against those who commit them.”

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 16th, 2011 at 4:56 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.