Anti-hate crime campaign for bus passengers set to relaunch
A successful anti-hate crime campaign for bus passengers has been relaunched.
The campaign is run by the Safer Travel Partnership for West Midlands Police and, in its first run, saw more than 380 hate crimes recorded across the West Midlands bus network.
It has been relaunched for another 12 months to help Safer Travel officers to focus on staff assaults, which represent almost a third of all hate crimes reported on the bus network in the past two years.
Safer Travel officers also plan to conduct joint training with safety managers from National Express West Midlands in order to support transport staff in dealing with hate crimes.
The training will cover how to recognise a hate crime, what staff should do if they are a victim of a hate incident and where they can go for support, and how to support passengers if a hate incident occurs during their duties.
On the rise
The Police and Crime Commissioner and Mayor of the West Midlands are continuing to support the campaign to increase awareness of hate crime across the transport network.
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, David Jamieson said: "Hate crime has been on the rise in our communities.
"Through this campaign we have been encouraging anyone who is a victim of hate crime whilst on our transport network to come forward and report it."
“I am pleased that more people have been coming forward to report hate crime but nonetheless we must remain vigilant and tackle it."
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: "People have a right to travel on our trains, buses, and trams in safety and without being subject to abuse and anti-social behaviour.
"So the message from myself, the PCC, and this campaign could not be clearer - if you see hate crime or are the victim of hate crime, report it."
The campaign is featured on over 300 National Express West Midlands buses and in all 12 bus stations across the region.
