Hate crimes
Sussex Police serves a diverse community in Sussex - and we believe that every member of that community has the right to live without fear of harassment and abuse, whether verbal, physical or sexual.
Individuals are also entitled to live in their homes without
fearing damage to their property.
We encourage victims to report hate crime to enable us to gather
evidence and ultimately to allow the courts to prosecute the people
responsible.
What is hate crime?
Hate crime is any criminal offence committed against a person or property that is motivated by an offender's hatred of someone because of their:
- race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality or national origins
- religion
- gender or gender identity
- sexual orientation
- disability
Hate crime can take many forms including:
- physical attacks - such as physical assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti, neighbour disputes and arson
- threat of attack - including offensive letters, abusive or obscene phone calls, unfounded, malicious complaints, groups hanging around to intimidate, dirty looks and intimidating stares.
- verbal abuse or insults and abusive gestures
- other abuse - such as offensive leaflets and posters, the dumping of rubbish outside homes or through letterboxes, theft or fraud, bullying at home, online, at school or in the workplace.
How to Report Hate Crime
If you are being subjected to any form of hate crime, please
come forward and report it.
Local contacts are given in the box to the top-right of this page.
Alternatively, call 101. In an emergency
call 999 or come to your local police station.