Stags' stadium hosts Nottinghamshire Police’s hate crime conference

Nottinghamshire Police has held its now annual hate crime conference at the home of one of the county’s top football clubs.

The force teamed up with Mansfield Town to host the forum – which focused on eradicating different forms of hate from the community.

Around 120 people attended today’s event at the Stags’ One Call Stadium, including representatives from the police, fire service, NHS and local councils.

The conference was organised as part of the national Hate Crime Awareness Week, which is running until the end of tomorrow (19 October).

Guest speakers from a range of organisations provided an insight into the work they do, in a bid to improve understanding and give attendees an opportunity to ask questions.

Among those to speak was an Iman from a local mosque, as well as representatives from groups such as Mencap, Notts LGBT+, and the National Holocaust Centre.

The event also provided a forum for people to explore how organisations can work in partnership with the police to combat different forms of hate crime and also support victims.

Today’s conference followed on from last year’s successful event at Nottinghamshire Police’s headquarters, which was the first time the force had ever hosted an event of this kind.

Chief Inspector Craig Berry, Nottinghamshire Police’s hate crime lead, said: “We said following last year’s event that we’d received lots of positive feedback and several requests to make our hate crime conference an annual affair, so we’re delighted to have been able to do that.

“We’re absolutely committed to doing whatever we can to counteract hate crime offending but are fully aware that working in partnership with other organisations is crucial to doing this.

“This was a fantastic event that brought all of these groups together for a common cause of highlighting the damage hate can cause and why it won’t be tolerated.

“These organisations will have an alternative insight to us about the impact different types of hate can have on people, so listening to some of this will have only benefitted our understanding as a police force.

“On top of that though, the other groups at the conference were able to hear about the work we’re doing in the police around hate crime, so that we can hopefully work together more going forward.”

The force’s ongoing efforts to improve policing through the Police Race Action Plan and the work being conducted by its dedicated football officers to tackle hate at matches were among the topics discussed at the event.

A hate crime can be separated into three types – physical assault, verbal abuse or incitement of hatred – and is any incident that is perceived to be based on someone’s prejudice towards a person because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or because they are transgender.

The conference was organised by the force’s Hate Crime Team, who work closely with local partners to support victims of hate and engage with communities to help people feel comfortable reporting incidents.

These efforts have led to some great results, in the form of a 27 per cent increase in a hate crime report leading to a positive outcome, when comparing April to July with the same period 12 months earlier.

This could take place in the form of a charge, youth or adult caution, penalty notice, or a community resolution.

On top of that, Nottinghamshire Police has achieved an 88 per cent satisfaction rating following feedback from victims – an improvement on the year before.  

Empowering more people to report incidents is the key focus of the force’s ‘Take Aim at Hate’ campaign, which continues to be backed by Mansfield Town and each of the county’s professional football clubs.

Ch Insp Berry added: “We’re grateful to Mansfield Town, Nottingham Forest and Notts County for their continued support in promoting our message that hate offences will not be tolerated here in Nottinghamshire.   

“One of the key elements of Take Aim at Hate is to encourage more people to come forward and report incidents – whether they’re the victim themselves, they’ve seen something happen, or they’ve heard it.

“Helping people feel comfortable enough to do this is absolutely essential in allowing us to then take action and get that positive outcome on the back of a report.

“We’re pleased to have taken continued positive strides on that front and are proud to have improved victim satisfaction too but are keen to stress we know more still needs to be done and we’re committed to doing that.”    

Mansfield Town club captain Aden Flint said: “Our message as a football club has always been clear – there is absolutely no place for hate crime, either within our sport or within wider society.

“We aim to be as inclusive as possible and to be welcoming to all, with the club continually looking to do whatever we can across Mansfield to champion equality and fairness.

“Tackling hate crime is a key part of improving our community as a whole, so we’re proud to have been able to host Nottinghamshire Police’s annual hate crime conference and will continue to support the force’s Take Aim at Hate campaign.”

Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Gary Godden, who also spoke at the conference, added: “There is no place for hate in Nottinghamshire.

“We have seen from recent tensions and disturbances in towns and cities nationally that hate crime can occur – and we need to stand firm as a society to ensure our fantastic county remains a place of tolerance, acceptance and equality.

“One of the key challenges we have is that hate crime is massively underreported, and there are many reasons for that, from a lack of trust and confidence in the authorities to a lack of awareness of the services that are there to help people. Sometimes there are cultural and personal reasons why people may not reach out for help or to report.

“I would urge anyone affected by hate crime to please report it to the police. I want perpetrators to know we will not stand by and let hate crime happen – and I want victims to know that they will be supported by the police and do not need to suffer in silence."