Neighbourhood Services
Keeping Bexley Safe
 Homophobic
Abuse
What is homophobic abuse?
This is any abusive act committed against a person or their
property either because they are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender
or because the perpetrator believed that they are. It includes bullying,
assaults, harassments, threats or being called names.
Transphobic abuse is similar except that the target of the abuse is transvestites
or transsexual people.
It has become clear that lots of homophobic and transphobic incidents are
not being reported to the police. Even when they are, the person reporting
may feel uncomfortable about saying it is a homophobic / transphobic incident
for many reasons, one being, because they don’t want people to know
that they are lesbian, gay bisexual or transgender.
Bexley Community Safety Partnership recognise this fear, and want to
assure victims, witness or anyone reporting that they will be dealt with
respect, sensitivity and in confidence. They will not make judgements about
you or the crime you were a victim of, whatever your status, lesbian, gay,
bisexual or transgender.
It is vital that all homophobic and transphobic incidences are reported
to the police regardless of whether or not you want any actions to be taken.
This enables us to know the full extent of the problem in Bexley as well
as help us understand what we need to do to be able to deal with this effective.
If you prefer not to report directly to the Police we have set up a number
of Third Party Reporting sites all over the borough.
You can make a report to these agencies who will them pass your report
to the police either only for their information, or if you want, for further
investigation. All Third Party Reporting sites have been trained by Bexley
Police and have to abide by strict confidentiality rules.
Racial Abuse
What is racial abuse?
This is any abusive act committed against a person or their
property because of their race, ethnic background, religious belief or skin
colour. It includes bullying, assaults, harassments, threats or being called
names.
Third Party Reporting of Crime
Bexley Community Safety Partnership is committed to ensuring
that all residents of Bexley feel confident to report incidents of crime. Some
residents have difficulty in dealing directly with the Police and therefore
a form has been produced that enables victims to report crime, either for intelligence
only or for investigation.
The concept of such a form arose from the Macpherson Report, following the
tragic death of Stephen Lawrence. Macpherson stated that “all possible
steps should be taken by police at a local level in consultation with local
communities to encourage the reporting of racist incidents and crimes.” He
went on to say that “these steps should include giving the public the
ability to report at locations other than police stations; and the ability
to report 24 hours a day”.
Third Party reporting is an initiative aimed at encouraging the reporting
of all hate crime, this offers a practical means of helping those who are reluctant
to come forward in the normal way. The form allows for victims to remain anonymous
by withholding their personal details if they wish. Whilst this means that
the issue cannot be investigated the information given will nevertheless be
collated for intelligence purposes.
Forms are available at Council Information Desks, Libraries, and Bexley Council
for Racial Equality, Library Building, 3 Walnut Tree Way, Erith. You may also  download
the Third Party Reporting Form here (147KB, pdf file). |
