What Can You Do?
Reporting a Hate Crime or Discrimination
Racially motivated crimes come under the heading of ‘hate crime’. Unless someone is in danger, it is important to have the permission of the victim before you take action. Many people fear making their situation worse by making a complaint. Where people are willing, there are a number of ways of reporting an incident.
In an emergency you should dial 999;
For non-emergency calls about hate crime phone 101.
You can also report incidents confidentially on the Crimestoppers number 0800 555 111
You can report a hate crime online at https://www.psni.police.uk/crime/hate-crime/reporting-a-hate-crime/
The PSNI have access to translators and telephone translation services.
Information from the PSNI can be found in their leaflet on racist hate crime:
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) encourages reporting of neighbourhood harassment to their district offices. Go to their website to find out how to contact them:
You can go to the Housing Executive website to find out more about hate crime, and also to discover their Hate Harassment Toolkit
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is responsible for preventing discrimination and promoting equality. It covers various areas of discrimination including gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, marital status and religious or political belief. If you want advice from the Equality Commission about unlawful discrimination contact them on: information@equalityni.org or telephone (028) 9089 0890 (Enquiry Line).
Read our leaflet Responding to Racism for more information about racism.
