Title: Section: Policy Ref: Issue No: Author: Issue Date: Review Date:

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1 Title: Hate Crime, Harassment & Discrimination Policy Section: Neighbourhoods Policy Ref: N016 Issue No: 1 Author: James Bacon Issue Date: Aug 2010 Review Date: Aug 2013 Approval process When Customer Consultative Panel News & Views N/A Stakeholders Aug 2010 Staff Aug 2010 EIA completed & signed off by Scrutiny Panel Board

2 Contents No. Section Page 1. Introduction 3 2. Vision & Objectives 3 3. Policy Aims Audience 4 5. Definition of Hate Crime 4 6. Definition of Harassment Definition of Discrimination Tackling hate crime, harassment & discrimination Receiving reports of hate crime, harassment & discrimination Equality and Diversity Health & Safety Training Consultation Monitoring & Review The Legal Framework Related Policies & Documents 10 2

3 1 Introduction Golden Gates Housing Trust (the Trust) is committed to reducing anti-social behaviour including hate crime, harassment and discrimination by tackling the causes and responding swiftly to all incidents; using all available powers to stop such behaviour when it occurs. In this policy the word harassment as defined in section 6 implies harassment due to one of the nine protected characteristics. 2 Vision & Objectives GGHT Vision Statement: a leading housing provider creating quality homes and neighbourhoods where people want to live One of the ways we will achieve our vision is by: We will do this by: 3 Policy Aims improving the quality of life for customers putting the customer first being inclusive and work in partnership with others being caring and supportive 3.1 This document sets out a policy to deal with hate, harassment and discrimination incidents and hate crimes with the aim of creating sustainable communities and neighbourhoods where people are proud to live. 3.2 The Trust has agreed to work in partnership with the Cheshire Constabulary to act as a third party reporting centre, where victims of these incidents can confidentially make reports. As a key organisation in the Borough of Warrington and a community partner, the Trust will record and report incidents from any person (along with several other agencies), not just Trust customers. Cheshire Constabulary will promote the reporting centres across the county and front line staff will receive training to ensure that reports are dealt with consistently. 3.3 The Trust s staff, Board Members and contractors will be expected to adhere to the principles laid down in this policy and have an individual and collective responsibility to ensure that this policy is actively applied in practice. 3.4 The Trust expects its customers to adhere to the obligations prescribed in the Assured Tenancy Agreement Section 3 paragraph

4 3.5 In implementing this policy, the Trust will comply with the Tenant Services Authority s Regulatory Framework. 3.6 The Business Manager (Neighbourhoods) will be responsible for the effective implementation of this policy and responsible for ensuring that all staff are aware of and appropriately trained in the Trust s procedures relating to hate, harassment and discrimination. 3.7 The Business Manager (Neighbourhoods) will also be responsible for ensuring effective links with Warrington Borough Council, the Police, the Social Landlords Crime and Nuisance Group and other agencies at a strategic level to ensure that the Trust can contribute to wider issues in relation to hate, harassment or discrimination. 4 Audience 4.1 This policy will apply to all customers of the Trust, staff and contractors. It does not apply to Hate Crime, Harassment & Discrimination incidents against GGHT members of staff. 5 Definition of Hate Crime 5.1 A Hate/Incident/Crime is any occurrence or crime where the perpetrator s prejudice against any identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised (Cheshire Constabulary Guidelines). 5.2 The Home Office classifies hate crime within the following categories: Age Race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins Religion (or lack of) Gender or gender identity Sexual orientation Disability (including learning disability and mental health) 5.3 The Trust will not tolerate hate crime of any description and will seek to deal efficiently and effectively with any reports of such by its tenants/residents or staff members. 5.4 A hate incident is defined as any occurrence that is perceived to be motivated by hate. This perception can be anybody s not just the victim, eg the call handler, the police officer, a friend of the victim, a relative etc. 6 Definition of Harassment 6.1 Harassment because of one of the nine protected characteristics includes: 4

5 Sexual Racial Sexual orientation Religion or belief Age Disability Gender re-assignment Pregnancy or maternity Marriage or civil partnership 6.2 Harassment can take many forms including, although the list is not exhaustive: Assumptions regarding the individual s inabilities Offensive remarks Exclusion Offensive or patronising behaviour Derogatory name calling Insults and jokes Display of offensive material Physical attack Physical contact Suggestive remarks Exclusion from normal workplace conversation or activities Verbal threats 6.3 The Trust will not tolerate harassment under any of the nine protected characteristics and will seek to deal efficiently and effectively with any reports of such by its tenants, residents or staff members. 7 Definition of Discrimination There are 3 types of discrimination; 7.1 Direct Discrimination; a person treats another less favourable because of having one of the nine protected characteristics which amounts to a detriment for that person. Indirect Discrimination; a neutral requirement which impacts adversely on a person or particular groups that have one of the nine protected characteristics. Victimisation; a person suffers a detriment due to them having made or supported a complaint of discrimination because of one of the nine protected characteristics, in good faith. 5

6 7.2 The Trust will not tolerate discrimination of any description and will seek to deal efficiently and effectively with any reports of such by its tenants/ residents or staff members. 8 Tackling Hate Crime, Harassment & Discrimination 8.1 All hate, harassment or discrimination incidents will be treated seriously and recorded by the member of staff who the victim has spoken to. If the victim wishes to speak to a specific member of staff that they have an existing relationship with (eg Neighbourhood Housing Officer, Customer Services Advisor) or with a member of staff of the same sex etc, this will be accommodated where possible. It is widely acknowledged that these incidents are only reported after several incidences; therefore, all front line staff will receive basic training and guidance so that they can deal with the reporting of them. 8.2 Incidents require no evidence a hate, harassment or discrimination incident is based on the perception of the individual so if the victim feels the incident is motivated by these then it should be recorded as such. 8.3 Once an incident has been reported to the Trust, first we must report it to the Police and they will investigate the case and gather evidence to decide whether the incident is a hate crime or not. If an incident does not have sufficient evidence that it was motivated by hate then it is recorded by the Police as a hate incident, not a hate crime. 8.4 The Police will record every incident of hate, harassment or discrimination and provide statistics of how many these incidents become hate crimes. The information provided can be anonymous if the victim prefers. Postcodes will be used by the police to monitor hate incident and crime activity in areas. 8.5 If a reported incident alleges that one of our tenants is the perpetrator, then the Anti Social Behaviour Policy and Procedures must be followed. Therefore, the incident is reported to the Police and the Trust will also take action to investigate and take action where appropriate. 8.6 For a hate motivated incident to be classed as a hate crime it must be one of the following types of incidents: Assaults Criminal Damage Public Order Offences Harassment 8.7 Hate, harassment or discrimination incidents take many forms, both directly and indirectly. Some examples are listed below:- 6

7 Physical Assault Damage to property Theft Offensive graffiti Arson Molestation Common assault, actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm Breaking or damaging doors, windows, fences or any part of a person s home, damage to a person s vehicle or damage to a person s personal items Stealing any item from an individual where it is suspected that the theft was motivated by hate Graffiti or slogan. Particular attention will be given where graffiti is in on or near to an individual s home or is clearly directed at an individual or community Putting burning paper, rags, rubbish or any other Item in or near to a person s home Threatening or abusive behaviour, correspondence, posters, pictures, literature including telephone calls or any other act. 8.8 The most common reported hate, harassment or discrimination crimes and incidents are racially or religiously aggravated. This is defined as at the time of committing the offence, immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrates towards the victim hostility based on the victim s membership (or presumed membership) of a racial or religious group. OR The offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by hostility towards members of a racial or religious groups based on their membership of that groups (Cheshire Constabulary). 9 Receiving Reports of Hate Crime, Harassment & Discrimination 9.1 It is imperative that when dealing with a report of a hate, harassment or discrimination incidents, victims should be dealt with extremely sympathetically as it is likely to be extremely traumatic for the victim and their family and is unlikely to be the first incident experienced by the victim. 9.2 Every incident should be reported to the Police regardless of whether the member of staff feels it is serious or not, and repeat incidents should also be reported so that the Police can monitor the activity in the area and/or the alleged perpetrator. 7

8 9.3 Staff should ensure that the victim is made comfortable and that there are no barriers to language, using translations services if interpretation (verbal) is required or Novas if translation (written) is required. Similarly, if a victim would rather report the incident to a staff member of one gender this should be accommodated. 9.4 Staff should remember that the definition of a hate, harassment or discrimination incident is where the victim perceives it to be motivated by these. As a result staff should record the incident based on the victims perception. All incidents should be treated seriously and reported to the Police. 9.5 The victim should be interviewed to ascertain the details required. The details of the victim, perpetrator, area and date of the incident must be recorded fully, using the prescribed form provided by the Police. 9.6 Once the hate incident report has been forwarded to the Police, the member of staff will need to decide whether further action is appropriate and necessary, using the Trust s Anti Social Behaviour procedure. However, this should be at the discretion of the victim and if they do not wish to pursue the matter then their wishes must be adhered to. The Police will take the necessary action once they have investigated if the incident is deemed to be a hate crime. 9.7 If the victim requires additional support this should be arranged as a priority for example: Emergency temporary re-housing for victims and their families where necessary Permanent re- housing of victims and families where necessary and possible as long as we have written confirmation from the Police or other recognised agency. Arrange additional security measures to the victim s home as necessary Remove racist graffiti and carry out repairs as an emergency 9.8 All victims of hate, harassment or discrimination incidents should be offered support from Victim Support ( ) so that they can speak to a trained volunteer and receive specialist advice. 9.9 Victims should be aware of what is going to happen next, ie if the incident is to be just recorded and forwarded to the Police this should be made clear. If further action is to be taken, this should be explained to the victim Further information is available in the Victim and Witness Support Policy The Working Together Equality & Diversity Policy contains further information on how the Trust will tackle hate crime, harassment & discrimination 8

9 10. Equality & Diversity 10.1 GGH aims to ensure that its Hate Crime, Harassment & Discrimination Policy respects and upholds the organisation s commitment to equality and diversity and in a manner that is fair to all staff regardless of their; age, religion & belief, disability, gender, race, sexual orientation, transgender status, marriage & civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity or any other issue that may cause potential discrimination in service delivery GGH will ensure that where necessary it assists all staff to access the Hate Crime, Harassment & Discrimination Policy. This may include assisting staff to access translation services, type-talk and providing literature in a range of formats such as larger text, picture and Braille formats or in different colours. 11 Health & Safety 11.1 All activities carried out by GGHT will be in accordance with the Health & Safety Management system including risk assessments and accompanying safe systems of work. 12 Training 12.1 The Trust is committed to training and developing staff and Board Members. This will ensure that they have a good knowledge of the policies, procedures and systems in place for tacking ASB and Hate Crime, Harassment & Discrimination that meets the expectations of its stakeholders. 13 Consultation, Monitoring and Review 13.1 The Trust will consult Warrington Borough Council, Cheshire Police, Victim Support, other relevant statutory and voluntary organisations, along with the Customer Consultative Panel in order to continually develop good practice in this area The Trust will report to the Board annually giving details of: The number of hate incidents reported, broken down by area The number of hate incidents reported, broken down by protected characteristic The action taken in each case The length of time taken to bring the case to a satisfactory conclusion 13.3 Serious cases of hate incidents and subsequent action will be reported to the Board as appropriate 13.4 The Trust will monitor the effectiveness and implementation of this policy to ensure that it achieves its aims of protecting its tenants and residents of its 9

10 communities The Trust will work closely and liaise with other social landlords in the area to benchmark its effectiveness in relation to racial harassment. 14. The Legal Framework Housing Act 1996 (Harassment and Anti Social Behaviour) Crime and Disorder Act 1998 Public Order Act 1986 Protection from Harassment Act 1997 Malicious Communications Act 1998 Telecommunications Act Related Policies & Documents Anti-Social Behaviour Policy Relationship Breakdown Policy Equality and Diversity Policy Customer Care Policy Complaints and Compliments Policy Resident Involvement Policy Anti-Social Behaviour procedures GGHT Tenancy Agreements GGHT Tenants Handbook Victim & Witness Support Policy Safeguarding Adults Policy 10