CouncilReporting hate crime
Why report a hate crime?
A hate crime is a violation of your personal and civil rights. Effective action against hate incidents requires that these crimes be reported, to the police, council and all other appropriate agencies.
Only if a hate crime is reported can we, together, take action to deal with it. No one has the right to harass, threaten or assault you because of who you are.
How to report a hate crime
Callers have the option of reporting an incident anonymously. We encourage victims to provide personal details, which will help us to investigate the incident more thoroughly.
- Tower Hamlets 24 hour freephone Hate crime reporting line: 0800 138 0521
- Report it online
- Report it to the Police – call 999
- Report via a third party reporting centre
- Report at your local housing office
Eligibility criteria
Anyone can report hate crime to the council including:
- Residents
- Visitors to the borough
- Private tenants
- Local businesses
- Community and faith groups
- Employees
Evidence required
Any kind of evidence can help the council or the police in the process of investigation. In particular, it can help an investigation if you are able to provide:
- A description of the perpetrator(s)
- Details of any witnesses to the incident
- A diary record of any ongoing incidents and previous incidents you have experienced
- Original copies of any hate mail that has been sent to you
- Evidence of damage to property, graffiti etc. It is advisable not to clear these up before reporting the incident if possible.
What happens next?
- The council aims to make contact with you within 48 hours of the incident being reported. This applies to incident reported via the internet, customer contact centre or in person.
- You will be sent a letter confirming receipt of the report within 48 hours of the report. The letter will contain the name and contact details of your investigation officer.
- The community safety victim & witness support team will contact you within 5 working days. If you wish they will be able to organise an appointment to see you to assess your support needs and give you information about the investigation process and other agencies that may be able to help you. You can contact the victim & witness support team on 020 7364 6318 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday.
Resources assigned
On individual circumstances the investigation officer will advise what type of resources will be available to the complainant.
Appeals process/complaint process
If the complainant are not happy with the service provided they can either:
- Speak to the Community Safety Operations Manager on 020 7364 6107.
- Complain via the council’s corporate complaints procedure.
Home visits
At the initial reporting stage we do not need to do a home visit. Only once a case file has been generated, your dedicated case investigation officer will call you to arrange for an appointment to interview. Generally interviews take place in a secure location such as the local housing office, if due to difficult circumstance you are unable to leave your premises we will arrange to visit you at your residence.
Service times
The race and hate crime team is available from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday on 0207 364 6037.
24 hour hate crime hotline: 0800 138 0521
