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The police and community response to a hate crime or incident will vary depending on
- Whether the victim wishes to be contacted by the police, and
- Whether the crime or incident was reported anonymously
1. Initial response
If the victim chooses to report the hate crime or incident non-anonymously, an officer should contact the victim and ask the victim how they would like to talk to the police about this crime.
This could involve:
- Visiting the victim at home or talking to the victim elsewhere;
- Arranging for the victim to come to a police station and talk about the hate crime or incident they have experienced, or
- Meeting the victim at a place that takes reports of hate crime.
What happens when the victim speaks to the police?
- When the victim speaks to an officer, they should then ask them to explain what happened and then write down what the victim has told them. This is called taking a statement.
- After the interview, the victim should be asked to read the statement and check that it is correct. The police should then ask the victim to sign it. They should also give the victim the chance to make a separate Victim Personal Statement – this is the victim’s chance to say how the crime has affected them, and it should be taken into account during trial.
- The victim should then be advised about what will happen next.
Note:
- If the victim has reported the hate crime or incident anonymously, no further contact should be made by law enforcement on the investigation and on the outcome of any investigation.
- If required, the police can provide a translator or interpreter to provide assistance in Cantonese, Mandarin or other languages. Tell the police you need an interpreter, and tell them which language you need interpretation in.
- If the victim finds it difficult or upsetting to talk to the police, they can ask for a break at any point.
What can you do if the police won’t accept something as a hate incident?
If the police is notified of a hate incident, they are required to record it as such. It doesn’t matter if the police officer perceives it otherwise.
You don’t have to show evidence of prejudice or hostility to report a hate incident.
However, during investigation, the police officer dealing with the case must find evidence of prejudice or hostility to charge the suspect with a hate crime. This evidence should also be presented to the judge by the Crown Prosecution Service in court.
So while all instances of hate crime and hate incidents should be reported to the police, it should be noted that:
- Not all reports will lead to prosecution;
- Some prosecutions will lead to the suspect being charged with the crime but not with a hate element;
- Not all prosecutions will lead to the suspect being found guilty.
2. Processing info
After the police has gathered information from the victim, they should perform an initial triage and open a case through two steps:
a) Determine whether the case is handled by the correct authority
- First, the authority that receives the report should make sure that they are the correct police force to investigate the crime you’ve reported. For example, if the hate crime or incident took place in a train station, this would be a matter for British Transport Police. In this case, the authority who received the initial report should send it to the correct police force to continue the investigation.
- Note: Filing a report with the correct authority could potentially speed up the process. If the incident happened on public transport, report directly to British Transport Police if possible. Click here to find out how to report to the British Transport police.
b) Issue a crime reference number (CRN)
- Once the case has been referred to the appropriate police force, they should issue you a crime reference number (CRN). How quickly this is done depends on the complexity of the incident and number of other authorities involved.
- What is a CRN? This is a unique number assigned to the victim’s case, the victim can quote this number to request updates from the police.
- Please make sure that the crime has been recorded as a hate crime or incident. You can do this by asking the police officer in charge of your case.
3. Investigation
Having ensured that the case is dealt with by the correct authority, the officer should conduct an initial investigation.
This could involve:
- Talking to witnesses
- Assessing the scene of the crime
- Reviewing CCTV or video footage
- Gathering other evidence such as forensic samples
- Searching intelligence database
The length of investigation should vary depending on the availability of evidence and complexity of the hate crime or incident. The officer in charge of the case should aim to provide regular updates to the victim.
At the end of initial investigation, the police should review all of the information gathered and make an initial decision on whether to investigate the victim’s report further. They may proceed to：
- Make an arrest
- Close the case, or
- Choose to refer the case for further investigation
The police will base their decision on four key factors:
- Vulnerability of the victim
- Severity of the offence
- Likelihood it can be solved (i.e. whether or not there is an identified suspect)
- The most effective use of resource
4. Making a decision
If the police decides to move forward with an arrest, they should bring in the suspect for questioning before deciding whether to charge the person.
After being held for questioning the police may decide to:
a) Release the person without charge
- If the police could not find sufficient evidence to charge the suspect after questioning and any follow-up investigation, they may release the suspect without charge.
- If you are unsatisfied with the police’s conclusion and/or how they have handled the case, you can file a complaint against the police. Please refer to the section titled “How to make a complaint” in this handbook for more information.
b) Give them a caution, conditional caution or fixed penalty 1
What is a caution?
- A caution is not a criminal conviction, but it could be used as evidence of bad character (which would weaken their case) if the suspect goes to court for another crime.
- Cautions are given to anyone aged 10 or over for minor crimes. The suspect will have to admit an offence and agree to be cautioned. The suspect can be arrested and charged if he/she doesn’t agree.
What is a conditional caution?
- Police may attach conditions on the caution. This means the person will have to stick to certain rules and restrictions as part of a conditional caution, such as fixing damage to a property.
- The person will be charged with a crime if they don’t stick to the conditions.
What is a fixed penalty?
- Penalty notices for disorder are given for offences like being drunk and disorderly in public.
- A person can be given a penalty notice if they are 18 or over.
- The person will be asked to sign the penalty notice ticket. They won’t get a criminal conviction if they pay the penalty.
c) Place them on police bail
- Bail is the temporary release of a person who is a suspect in an investigation into a crime (police bail), on the condition that they return to the police station at a later date.
- Bail can sometimes be granted on condition that a sum of money is presented to guarantee the person coming to court.
- The suspect will NOT be granted bail if they:
- Are charged with a serious offence, such as attempted murder
- Have been previously convicted of a serious crime
- Have been given bail in the past and not stuck to the terms
- Officers may think that person will not turn up for your court hearing
- Officers may think the person may commit a crime while on bail
d) Police custody
- The police may decide not to grant bail meaning they have to remain in police custody for a short period of time whilst the police decide whether or not to bring charges.
- How long can the police hold the suspect in custody?2
- The person arrested can be held for up to 24 hours before they have to charge with a crime or release the individual.
- The police can apply to hold the person for up to 36 or 96 hours if they are suspected of a serious crime.
- Individuals can be held without charge for up to 14 days, if they are arrested under the Terrorism Act.
e) Charge the person
- The case will be handed over to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), who will decide whether to prosecute and take the case to court.
- If the case goes to court, the victim should be contacted before the trial by the Witness Care Unit. They will be the victim’s single point of contact from then on, and should inform and support the victim at court.
- Because of the serious nature of hate crime offences, the CPS can apply to the courts for a ‘sentence uplift’, which is an increased punishment for the crime. For more details, please refer to the CPS information on hate crime.
5. Post-Decision
If the case goes to court, the victim should be contacted before the trial by the Witness Care Unit. They will be the victim’s single point of contact from then on, and should inform and support the victim at court.
Some witnesses who feel intimidated or vulnerable, because they are young or disabled for example, and may need help giving evidence. In these cases, witnesses may be entitled to ‘special measures’. This could involve placing a screen between the witness box and the defendant or giving evidence with the help of a specialist.
For more details on your rights as a witness and the trial process, please refer to the Victim Support ‘Witness Rights’ page.
For more details on how to help the victim better cope with the incident, please refer to the Victim Support help and support page.