Every day last year, a Hate Crime was reported in Telford
West Mercia Police have revealed the extent of Hate Crimes and Incidents reported during the whole of 2023 today. How does Telford fare?
In a famous case from 2023, Elliot Jackson, a Telford man received a suspended sentence following his arrest for commentary on social media about antisemitic messages which he admitted.
Detective Sergeant Chris Henry branded Jackson’s behaviour as ‘unacceptable’.
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.’
Evidence of the hate element is not a requirement. You do not need to personally perceive the incident to be hate related. It would be enough if another person, a witness or even a police officer thought that the incident was hate related.
A Hate Crime could take the form of Physical assault, Verbal abuse, or Incitement to hatred. The offence of incitement to hatred occurs when someone acts in a way that is threatening and intended to stir up hatred. That could be in words, pictures, videos, music, and includes information posted on websites.
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.
In the Borough for 2023, 371 Hate Crimes were reported, along with 42 Hate Incidents.
Topping the West Mercia list was South Worcestershire which includes towns like Evesham and Malvern with 550 Hate Crime and Incidents reported, but Herefordshire with 252 is the place where Hate Crimes and Incidents are least likely to occur.
In Telford, more reports of Hate were made based on Race than any other, but the fewest reports were based on Age and Sub Culture which is how people dress, or their lifestyle.
Pic: Telford Live