THE vote for Brexit sparked a surge in hate crimes around the country this summer, as immigration became a focus.

Reports to police have fallen again, but the issue remains a live one and is the focus of a new campaign by West Yorkshire Police and the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

Hate Hurts, running for the next year, will focus on raising awareness of hate crime and how to report it. It also aims to help the public understand the difference between hate crimes and hate incidents. Both are defined as being perceived by the victim, or any other person, to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.

A hate crime is a criminal offence, such as physical assault, damage to property, offensive graffiti and arson. It can also be a threat of attack, such as inciting hatred by words, pictures or videos; offensive letters; abusive or obscene phone calls; groups hanging round to intimidate; or unfounded malicious complaints.

Hate incidents can include verbal or online abuse; insults or harassment such as taunting; abusive gestures; dumping rubbish outside homes or through letterboxes; and bullying at school or in the workplace. They are not criminal offences but should still be reported to police.

West Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable Angela Williams said tackling hate crime was a priority for the Force. “Any hate crime can have a devastating impact on the victim, but also has the potential to divide communities,” she said. “We have specially trained officers who can support victims of hate crime and we will continue to do all we can to help people have confidence in reporting both hate crime and hate incidents.”

West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Burns-Williamson said: “We are doing our utmost to eradicate hate in West Yorkshire. There’s absolutely no place in our communities for this vile behaviour, it will not be tolerated.

“The crux of this campaign is to raise awareness of what these crimes and incidents are, the impact they have on our communities, and how to report them. If you feel you have been the victim of a hate crime or a hate incident, I would urge you to report it. There are a variety of ways to report, from free smartphone apps and online reporting forms, to over the phone or in person at a police station. There are also third party reporting centres. You can find information on the ways to report on West Yorkshire Police’s website. Reports will be dealt with sensitively and support will be offered as required by the victim.”

President of Bradford Council for Mosques Mohammed Rafiq Sehgal, said incidents of hate crime had increased since the Brexit vote. Mr Sehgal said there had not been a big problem in Bradford but there had been issues relating to colour, creed or disability.

“We condemn any type of hate crime, whoever is responsible, and will work with police to eradicate any such menace,” he said. “The hate crimes we have heard about are not on a big scale, they have been mostly people being shouted at to leave the country, but they are still offensive and hurtful. It is good that police have launched this new campaign and we support it.”

The Council for Mosques has worked with agencies such as the police, Bradford Council and the Hate Crime Alliance on the issue and is sending out messages through mosques to report incidents.

Councillor Zafar Ali (Con, Keighley Central), a former director of Keighley Racial Equality Council, said hate crimes were “vicious and degrading”. He said: “People should not be subject to these horrendous, devious attitudes, no matter where it comes from or who the perpetrator is. It’s important we stick together. The community at large is not going to tolerate it.”

Councillor Abdul Jabar, executive member for neighbourhoods and community safety, said: “Hate crime of any sort is not acceptable. Our work to promote respectful communities is central to everything we do, as shown in our equalities objectives which we recently endorsed. Whether people are disabled, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or from a particular race or religion, all should feel comfortable and at home in our district. We work on this with the police and other community partners to keep people safe and to promote respect.”

Hate crimes can be reported to police on 999 in an emergency, or 101, at westyorkshire.police.uk/hatecrime, or report-it.org.uk, or at a police station.