Hate crime and harassment

The Metropolitan Police and Ealing Council take hate crime extremely seriously.

You will be listened to, you will be supported and we will work with you to ensure appropriate action is taken.

Hate crime not only harms its victims, but it also harms their families and communities.

Hate crime is any criminal offence seen by the victim, or anybody else, as being motivated by hostility or prejudice towards someone and their:

  • race
  • religion
  • sexual orientation
  • identity
  • disability

These aspects are known as protected characteristics.

A hate crime can also include verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, harassment, assault, and damage to property.

Online hate crime

Online hate crime other than where and how it occurs, online hate is no different than offline hate, and is about posting and sharing hateful and prejudiced content against an individual, group or community.

When to report a hate crime

It is important to report all hate crime incidents.

We understand that being a victim of hate crime can be distressing and may cause you to be upset, angry, in shock or hurt.

Crime or incident

It counts as a hate crime when the law has been broken. However, the police also record all hate incidents, even when the law hasn’t been broken.

What matters is why you think you have been targeted.

Examples of hate crimes or incidents are:

  • assault, including pushing, spitting, or pulling at clothes
  • threats, verbal abuse, and abusive gestures
  • damage to property
  • offensive letters and graffiti 
  • online abuse
  • harassment

There might be a single incident or a series of incidents.

It doesn’t matter where an incident takes place, it can still count as a hate crime.

Reporting a hate crime and harassment

There are many ways you can report hate crime.

Police

Ealing Council

Crimestoppers 

An independent UK charity taking crime information anonymously.

  • Telephone: 0800 555111

All calls are free, and you do not have to give your name

West London Equality Centre

WLEC (formerly Ealing Equality Council), is a charity active in the promotion and advancement of equality and human rights for all members of our community

They provide free legal advice and advocacy in conjunction with the Community Advice Programme (CAP) and retain the pro-bono services of solicitors and qualified barristers in providing legal advice

Galop

Galop provides advice and support to people who have experienced hate crime because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

TellMAMA

TellMAMA provides a service for anyone who suffers or has suffered an incident as a result of their Muslim faith (or perceived Muslim Faith). TellMAMA is a secure and reliable service that allows people across England to report any anti-Muslim abuse.

Real

Real provides a service for anyone who has been a victim of hate crime because of their disability or perceived disability. Real is a registered third party reporting centre. This means Real will assist you to report a disability hate crime if you do not want to directly report the crime to the police yourself

Community Security Trust (CST)

CST is a national Jewish Charity that has extensive experience of providing support and advocacy for victims of antisemitism. CST works across the Jewish Community, from the most religious to the most secular.

  • Telephone: 020 8457 9999 (Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm)

The Monitoring Group

The monitoring group is a leading anti-racist charity that provides helpline and casework service to people experiencing racial violence and religious hatred.

Advice and support

We know that it is sometimes difficult to go to the police about hate crime.

If you are a victim of hate crime or know someone who is, there are many support agencies in place to support and offer guidance.