Hate Crime Service
Hate Crime is a criminal activity - motivated by hatred or prejudice toward a person’s identity; race or ethnicity; faith or religion, disability; sexual orientation or gender identity.
Hate crime takes the form of physical or verbal abuse - an attack on a property such as a home or a car, or harassment - activities that cause an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
In Greenwich, hate crime is treated as a priority because of its impact on individuals and groups. It disrupts lives; affecting whole communities, making people feel inferior and that they don’t belong.
There are a number of reasons why hate crime is underreported: people are unsure whether what they have experienced or witnessed is a crime, or perhaps they have lost trust and confidence in some organisation's ability to help them.
From our experiences, we are aware that many people that report hate crime do not feel listened to or that they have been taken seriously. After contacting us we will aim to reply within a day or two, listen to your concerns and agree on a plan of action.
GrIP's offer
By the time most victims of hate crime come to GrIP they are tired, having told their story a number of times. Often feeling as if they have not been heard or let down in other ways.
The first thing we will do is listen. If the conversation takes an hour, it takes an hour. We note down what we hear so it prevents talking about the same issues over and over.
GrIP works in a person or ‘client- centred’ way meaning that we provide advice and guidance but will work in the way that the client wants us to work. Before acting, we gain consent. That way there are no surprises or the chance that things will become worse.
We write letters, attend meetings ,explain the law and what to expect from the organisations working on your case. We make referrals to counselling services or organisations that improve the security at your home.
Regular updates are provided, no automated messages or long ques and we continue to work with clients until you feel safe.
National Hate Crime Awareness Week 2022 Radio Interviews
On 28th September, our hate crime coordinator, Marc Lorenzi, spoke on Greenwich Maritime Radio about 2022's National Hate Crime Awareness week. The focus for this year's campaign was people from Southeast Asian communities, following the dramatic increase in anti-Southeast Asian hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click here to view our infographic content on the statistics.
Listen to the interviews below!