Barnet will mark Hate Crime Awareness Week
Barnet will mark Hate Crime Awareness Week (12 to 19 October) with a series of events and engagement opportunities designed to promote the message that ‘hate has no place in Barnet’.
The focus on tackling hate crime in the borough comes against the backdrop of recently released figures (source: Met Police) showing a 47.3% increase in reported hate crime in the year to July (1,153 incidents compared to 818 in the preceding 12-month period). Faith-based hate crime, especially in the wake of events in the Middle East last October, more than doubled during the same period, but all forms of hate crime saw an increase. Despite these figures, we know that hate crime is still one of the most under-reported forms of crime – so Barnet’s campaign will be encouraging residents to report any hate crimes they have experienced or witnessed.
We know from the November 2023 Residents Perception Survey that Barnet is a place where people generally get on. 85% agree that people from different backgrounds get on well together in their local area.
We are looking to build further on issues and initiatives raised by local communities with our series of events during the week, beginning on Monday 14 October with the first of a series of Community Cohesion Conversations. The evening event will see a number of participants from across Barnet’s communities come together to talk about what community cohesion means to them, and how we can work together to tackle hate and division wherever it arises. This follows a number of ‘roundtable’-style events held with various community groups over the past year, and is set to launch a new series of engagement opportunities with community partners. The council will also be looking at ways of ‘shining a light’ on positive events in the community over the course of the winter months.
Throughout the rest of the week, partners from the police and the council’s hate crime reporting partner Mencap, alongside the council’s own Community Safety Team, will be visiting transport hubs across the borough to distribute information about hate crime and how to report it, and to talk to residents and commuters and address their questions. A webinar is set to take place on Thursday 17 October about the links between hate crime and violence against women and girls (VAWG), led by Mencap and the council’s VAWG team.
Cllr Sara Conway, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Resident Participation, said: "Access to justice for those affected by hate crime is a key priority for Barnet's Safer Communities Partnership. As we update our community cohesion approach, we are bringing local communities and key stakeholders together to help tackle rising hate crime and highlight the local initiatives building a stronger community going forward.
“We are absolutely committed to making a reality of the message that hate has no place in Barnet, and encourage anyone who has experienced or witnessed hate crimes to report them. Together, we can stop hate crime in the borough.”
Hate crime is any crime that is committed due to prejudice or hatred against a particular group. It can include, but is not restricted to, crimes based on a person’s race, faith, disability status, sexual orientation or gender identity. Residents can find out more and report hate crimes to the police or via local hate crime reporting centres at www.barnet.gov.uk/hatecrime.