Unfortunately, not everyone we come into contact with shares our views, values and beliefs. However, some people take this to the extreme and cause a lot of distress as a result. This kind of activity could be classed by as a hate incident or hate crime and we will not tolerate it.
A hate incident is defined as 'any incident, which may or may not constitute a criminal offence, perceived by the victim or any other person, as being motivated by prejudice or hate'.
A hate incident becomes a hate crime once an offence is committed.
These incidents and crimes may be based on a person's membership or perceived membership of a particular group which could include disability, lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, race and religion or belief.
Anyone can be a victim of hate crime and unfortunately, if it isn't reported it can go on for some time.
We appreciate that reporting these types of incidents and crimes directly to the Police isn't always easy. For this reason, New Progress Housing Association offers a third party reporting service that enables the victims of hate crime to report incidents confidentially without having to visit a police station.
The new 'third party' reporting system is a scheme that has been developed by the police to enable hate crime victims to report incidents to a number of agencies across Central Lancashire including disability groups, charities and registered social landlords as an alternative to speaking direct with police.
Other agencies participating in the scheme include Disability Equality NW, Moor Lane Resource Centre, PUKAR (from Oct 2010), Centre for Independent Living, Community Gateway, Integrate and Help Direct.
Our Tenancy Enforcement team has been specially trained to assist members of the public to complete a simple form which is then forwarded to the police. This can be done anonymously if you request it as is in complete confidence.
"The 'third party' reporting process is simple. You can either complete the online form or speak to our dedicated Tenancy Enforcement Team on 01772 450600 Monday to Friday from 8am until 6pm, or on 01772 436756 at all other times.
