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STAYING INDEPENDENT

Keeping adults safe

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Hate and mate crime

Hate crime and mate crime are both forms of bullying that can be reported to the police.

Hate crime is when someone you don’t know is mean to you because of who you are.

Mate crime is done by someone you know.

Here you’ll find out how to recognise hate crime and mate crime and what you can do about it.

Hate crime

Hate crime is when someone does something mean to another person because of their:

  • disability
  • race or ethnicity
  • religion or belief
  • sexual orientation
  • transgender identity.

How to recognise hate crime

Hate crime could be:

  • a physical attack like hitting
  • name calling or offensive gestures
  • threats, harassment or intimidation
  • damage to property
  • nasty letters, emails, texts, phone calls, social media messages or graffiti.

Mate crime

Mate crime is a type of hate crime. It is when someone says they are your friend, but they do mean things to you.

How to recognise mate crime

Some things that this friend may do are:

  • Ask you to say or do things that may put you in danger.
  • Want you to ‘act the clown’ for their own amusement.
  • Demand money from you or expect you to pay for everything.
  • Use all the credit on your mobile phone.
  • Steal from you.
  • Want you to take part in criminal activity.

If someone says they are your friend but then hurts you, steals from you or makes you do something you do not want to do, you should tell someone you trust right away.

Someone who only wants to be your friend because they want something, is not a true friend. A real friend would never take advantage of you in this manner.

How to spot if someone else is experiencing mate crime

Some signs to look out for are:

  • changes in relationships, appearance and finances
  • unexplained injuries
  • being involved in sexual acts that have not been agreed to
  • self neglect
  • bills not paid for and being short of money
  • signs of poor mental health
  • missing appointments
  • packages arriving at the person’s house.

How to get help

If you think you, or someone you know, may be experiencing hate crime or mate crime, the most important thing to do is talk to someone you trust so they can help you. This could be:

  • your family or another friend
  • your support worker
  • your house warden
  • a police officer.

How to report the crime to the police

To report hate or mate crime:

Call the non-emergency police line on 101

You can also visit a police station and report the crime in person. Find your local police station on the Humberside Police website.

Is someone in immediate danger?

If you feel that there is an immediate risk to someone who is experiencing hate or mate crime and it needs to be treated as an emergency to stop the person being harmed, please:

Call the police on 999

More information on hate or mate crime

If you’d like to find out more about hate or mate crime, or get support following an incident, these websites may be useful:

Mate and hate crime

Mencap provides information about mate crime, including tips on talking to the police.
What is hate crime?

True Vision explains each of the hate crimes in more detail.
SupportLine

SupportLine helps anyone in need of emotional support to develop healthy, positive coping strategies and increased self esteem to encourage healing, recovery and moving forward with life.
Hate crime

Victim Support provide specialist help to victims of crime to support them to cope and get their lives back on track.
What is mate crime?

Autism Together gives examples of mate crime and advises how it can affect someone with autism.
Abuse and neglect
Safety in the home