Almost one hate crime reported every day in Dudley
There was almost one hate crime every day across the Dudley borough during a 12-month period, with dozens of reports coming from children, police figures have revealed.
A total of 342 reports were made to West Midlands Police between October 2017 and September 2018, with 33 reports made by children.
Chief superintendent Sally Bourner said: “Hate crime is probably the most powerful manifestation for when community cohesion starts to break down.”
She made the comments during a special council meeting which looked at community tensions in Dudley – in particular areas like Lye.
The meeting followed revelations last year about possible human trafficking and modern slavery in Lye.
Dudley Council representatives, chief superintendent Bourner and community campaigners met to discuss how to tackle tensions within communities in the Dudley borough that face these issues.
She told the meeting: “Between October 2017 and September 2018, there were 342 reports of hate crime in our borough. That is around about one per day.
"That is an increase on the previous year and when we look at different categories in there, the highest reported was racial hate crime followed by homophobic hate crime.
“It is really important that people come forward and let us know when they have been subject to hate crime because not only does it help us to support them, it gives all of us a strong of what is happening in the community.
“Also, 33 of those 342 reports were made by a child or young person.
“So, 10 per cent of hate crime reported in our borough last year came from a child or young person, that is something that should make us all stop and think about, what do we do to really help support our children.”
The meeting was held by Dudley Council’s overview and scrutiny committee. It came on the back of a community forum meeting in Lye last year, when reports were made about possible human trafficking and modern day slavery in the town.
Since the meeting took place, Dudley Council and West Midlands Police have been working to help improve ‘community cohesion’ in Lye, and also look at other areas in Dudley where tensions may arise.
Ms Bourner added: “We also have a well-established mechanism for monitoring community tensions both locally which then feeds into a force wide and then national perspective on a weekly basis.”
