Hate Crime

Brian, is of Caribbean heritage and lives in St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan, where he is the only Black person on the housing estate in which he lives. Brian experienced racial hate crime and was subjected to racial abuse and harassment from his neighbours, which included derogatory comments such as: "he looks like he’s been dipped in tea," and his neighbours also purposely playing loud music with the N-word. Additionally, Brian’s plant pots were smashed by his neighbours, resulting in £200 worth of damage.

When Brian reported these incidents with his neighbours to South Wales Police on 20th May 2023, he received a crime reference number and the police issued a warning letter to Brian’s neighbours as a caution to his neighbours. But, despite this, the initial police response was dismissive. The police stated that the criminal damage was too minor to prosecute and that they could not act on the racial abuse because it had occurred within the neighbours' own garden. Brian wasn’t happy with this response, because he knew of other cases similar to his which the police had taken action on. 

So, because Brian had video evidence of both the verbal abuse and the property damage carried out by his neighbours, Brian contacted Race Equality First for advice and support.

After we discussed Brian’s case with him, we agreed to support him by liaising with the police and with filing a complaint about how the police had handled his report of the hate crime he had faced. 

After our complaint, a new officer was assigned to Brian’s case and Brian had a positive relationship with the new officer because he was committed to investigating Brian’s case thoroughly and seriously. 

The following month, when Brian’s neighbours were questioned by the police officer, they admitted to the offences that had been alleged against them. The police officer charged the neighbours with racially aggravated harassment and passed the case to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.

REF continued to work on Brian’s case by liaising with the police and giving Brian regular updates on the progress of his case. We put Brian in touch with the Cardiff hate crime officer at South Wales Police, who referred the case to a more senior officer who oversees all hate crimes in the St Athan area. After this, the senior officer contacted Brian directly on a regular basis to give Brian updates on his case himself.

When we closed Brian’s case, he told us he was happy and grateful for the support from REF and from the hate crime officer and he felt confident about the way his case was progressing. The case is now closed because Brian is comfortable dealing directly with the hate crime officer for any future updates, thanks to REF helping him to build that connection.

Hate crime from neighbours is one of the common hate crimes we deal with, and Brian’s situation shows how tough it can be for people dealing with racial hate crimes like verbal abuse and harassment when the police don’t take it seriously – which is also very common in hate crime cases.

In hate crime cases like Brian’s, the most important thing, which will help to prove and progress the case, is documenting evidence of the racial harassment that a person has faced. And video evidence is the best way to do this - if this is possible. If it’s not possible, then the next best way you are likely to get a positive outcome for a hate crime or incident is to take the name and contact details of any witnesses present and to record in writing the date, time, location and the whole incident which includes who, what, how, when and where the incident occurred, with name and contact details of any witnesses that were present.  And, as Brian’s case illustrates, persistent follow-up, effective communication, and engagement with a dedicated hate crime officer is what leads to a satisfactory outcome and support for a victim of hate crime.