A Midlands-based social landlord is joining forces with the police and other agencies to tackle hate crime.
Platform Housing Group – which is a member of the South Worcestershire Hate Crime Forum – will work in partnership with West Mercia Police as part of its support of Hate Crime Awareness Week.
The national initiative – which runs from tomorrow (Saturday) to October 17 this year – takes place annually, providing an opportunity to raise awareness of what hate crime is and stand by those affected by it.
The local agencies involved will run an online campaign during the week to highlight hate crime perpetrated online.
Tom Piotrowski, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor at Platform Housing Group said : “As a large social housing provider in the county, it is important that we play our part in such important initiatives. And with the numbers of reported hate crime remaining high, it continues to be a priority to challenge and stamp out hate crime in our communities. We are hoping that the online campaign – which includes hard hitting videos – will reach a wide audience with the message that we have a zero tolerance approach towards all forms of prejudice and hate crime.”
Platform Housing Group works with the police and other partners all year round on reporting hate crime and raising awareness about the issue.
National Hate Crime Awareness Week encourages people to consider how they respond to hate crime; hate crime includes any criminal offence targeted at someone that is fuelled by hostility or prejudice related to an individual’s disability, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
Since 1 April 2020, 232 hate crimes of all types were reported in South Worcestershire, compared to 245 for the same period in the previous year. Superintendent Jim Baker from West Mercia Police explained : “We are aware that for every reported hate crime there is an unknown number of unreported hate crimes so the key message from us is, if in doubt or if you think you may have been a hate crime victim, report it.”
Tom Piotrowski, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor at Platform Housing Group concluded : “As a business we stand firmly against any type of hate or prejudice. We pledge to challenge them both in the workplace and in our communities. Our aim is to bring people together, say no to hate crime and to work together to ensure our communities remain safe.”
Platform Housing Group – which owns 46,000 homes in total – completed 1448 homes in 2019/20 (1,598 in 2018/19) at an investment of £258m (£228m in 2018/19). The Group also built more social rented homes – at a figure of 981 – during the past 2 years in England than any other provider, 523 in 2019/20, almost 33% of the total homes built.
For further information please contact Tom Piotrowski, Diversity and Inclusion Advisor on 07805 812708 or e-mail him at [email protected].
