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The results of a police survey has revealed that over 80% of respondents did not report incidents of hate crimes they had witnessed to authorities.
The survey reveals that out of 175 people who claimed to have witnessed a hate crime, 145 failed to report it. Their reasons included "the main perpetrator is a millionaire and this is Jersey" and: "Against a States member?! I don't think so."
This news follows the Minister for Home Affairs Deputy Kristina Moore's decision to draft a new law which she hopes will provide "a more watertight system” for people reporting incidents of hate crime in the island.
Since 2012, a total of 240 hate crimes have been reported to the police, with most reports relating to racially motivated incidents.
Pictured: Breakdown of hate crime incidents which have been reported to the police 2012-17.
According to the UK Government website, hate crimes are “crimes committed against someone because of their disability, gender-identity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.
“Hate crimes can include: threatening behaviour; assault; robbery; damage to property; inciting others to commit hate crimes; and harassment.”
The survey ran for several weeks during May and June this year and received 175 responses, the results of which show how the public perceive how the police deals with verbal abuse and attacks. Racially aggravated hate crime was the most common, with 68 people saying they had experienced this. In addition to this, 44 respondents say they were targeted because of their sexual orientation.
Pictured: The reasons given in the recent survey for why hate crimes in Jersey went unreported.
Respondents to the survey also made suggestions as to how the police can encourage victims of hate crime to come forward. These included conducting outreach programmes in schools and businesses to educate islanders about hate crime, increasing diversity within the police force and having a hate crime helpline.
Detective Superintendent Stewart Gull, Chair of the Police's Equality & Diversity forum, said: “We are pleased with this response and the feedback we have had. These results will help us to better determine how we engage with our community in the future and to ensure that anyone who falls victim to hate crime, or any crime for that matter, has the confidence to report it to us, in the knowledge that we will deal with the matter seriously and do everything in our power to achieve the best possible outcome for them. We are in the best possible position to be able to help anyone who has suffered any related criminal act or incident and are committed to playing our part in reducing discrimination. We regard any form of hate crime as an aggravating factor and will deal robustly with any form of offending.”
Pictured: A break-down of the nature of hate crimes experienced by the survey's respondents alongside the action taken.
Following the survey, the police have compiled a Community Advisory Group with representatives from the five community groups affected by hate crimes in the island (faith, race, disability, age and LGBT) to assist in effectively using the results of the survey.
If you are the victim of or a witness to a hate crime in a non-emergency situation, you can call 01534 612612 or report it online here. If the crime you are reporting is an emergency, call 999.
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