Rotherham residents invited to event to tackle hate crime today

Police are set to discuss how hate crime is reported and how the police respond to incidents.

The event, that takes place between 2pm and 5pm today (Sunday February 7) follows the Rotherham Community Summit that was hosted by Sarah Champion, MP for Rotherham, which took place in November last year.

Some of the key points raised included: a lack of confidence in reporting or a lack of knowledge about how to report, fear of reprisals and a lack of understanding by the police.

Police will inform residents about the work that has been undertaken since the last meeting and reassure them that hate crime is a priority and won’t be tolerated.

Sarah Champion MP for Rotherham will also be speaking at the event in response to the work that is being undertaken.

Chief Superintendent Jason Harwin said: “Ultimately we want all communities to be able to live, work or visit Rotherham without the fear of being subjected to hate crime.

"We take incidents of hate crime extremely seriously and want to work with the community and partner organisations to stamp it out. I want people to feel confident that South Yorkshire Police will investigate all allegations of hate crime and we will ensure anyone committing it is brought to justice.”

Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “We have organised this event to enable us to listen to communities and better understand their experiences.

"We want to use their knowledge and experiences to increase awareness of what hate crime is and to develop a way of tackling the issue together.”

The event will include feedback and presentations from South Yorkshire Police as well as a short workshop session to involve attendees in how issues of hate crime are dealt with.