Reporting a hate crime

A woman's hands holding a mobile phone which she is typing onto.

What is a hate crime?

A hate crime is defined as 'Any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person's race or perceived race; religion or perceived religion; sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation; disability or perceived disability and any crime motivated by hostility or prejudice against a person who is transgender or perceived to be transgender.'

A hate incident is any incident which the victim, or anyone else, thinks is based on someone’s prejudice towards them because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.

Please report!

Hate crime of any type is unacceptable and must be challenged. The University, as a third party hate crime reporting centre, is committed to understanding the impact and experience of hate crime and encouraging students and staff to report all incidents.

Individuals can report hate crime directly to Devon and Cornwall Police at:- Report hate crime | Devon & Cornwall Police (devon-cornwall.police.uk)

If you are unsure about whether your experience is a hate crime, you can find out more about hate crimes here:- What is hate crime? | Devon & Cornwall Police (devon-cornwall.police.uk)

We would recommend you also let the University know what you have experienced so that we can support you. You can find trained staff at Student Wellbeing & Support; Chaplaincy or the Student Union office.

If you would prefer to talk to us before reporting a hate crime yourself, you can complete this form as a first step to seeking help:

FAQS

1) What if I want to remain anonymous to the university?

You can make an anonymous report through the Hate Crime Reporting form above. On receipt of this form, Student Wellbeing and Support will report the incident as a third party reporter (unless you’ve reported it yourself). You should note that reporting a crime anonymously does mean that the police will not be able to directly investigate that report with the perpetrator however it will be held as intelligence by them which may be useful if you or another person, experience a repeat of the hate crime at a later date and decide to waive anonymity at that point.

Please note that we will be unable to offer you support if you only contact us via the reporting form without leaving your name. You can still seek support in the University through asking for a Wellbeing appointment, self-referring to the Counselling team or speaking to Chaplaincy or Student Union teams (email to sws@marjon.ac.uk and simply request support from the appropriate team or go to the Chaplaincy/SU teams as appropriate).

2) What if I want to remain anonymous to the police?

We can report an incident to the police on your behalf. The police cannot investigate when a report is anonymous however information is held as intelligence by them which may be useful if you or another person, experience a repeat of the hate crime and waive your anonymity at that point. Please ask a member of staff within the Student Wellbeing and Support, Chaplaincy or the Student Union teams for a trained hate crime reporter who will be able to provide you with support and report the hate crime on your behalf, complete our form above or email the Student Wellbeing and Support team at sws@marjon.ac.uk and ask for an appointment.

3) What if I don’t mind reporting but don’t want an investigation?

You can report the incident direct to the Police here:- Report hate crime | Devon & Cornwall Police (devon-cornwall.police.uk) stating on the report that you do not want an investigation but would like the incident logged. This can be useful if there is a repeat offence at a later date and you do decide the Police should investigate at that point. The Police may contact you but you will remain in control of whether the incident can be investigated by them. Alternatively you can follow the advice above in FAQ 2.