Draft Hate Crime Policy

West Lancashire Borough Council recognise that behaviour and actions motivated by hatred or a particular prejudice towards an individual's race, faith, sexual orientation, gender identity, perceived disability or any other characteristic is particularly corrosive in relation to individual victims and our communities.

Hate related incidents and hate crime can have a significant impact on those experiencing it, and often leaves people feeling vulnerable, by affecting self-confidence and health and can leave individuals feeling isolated, fearful of what might happen next and potentially less likely to report further incidence, as well as create an environment for hostility and prejudice to thrive and damage the fabric of our society. Everyone has the right to live their life free from fear of attack or abuse because of who they are.

The Police sets out how WLBC investigates and responds to complaints about hate crime relating to residents in the Councils housing stock, what constitutes a hate crime; how we work with partners to seek an effective resolution; and how we aim to support complainants and deal with respondents in line with the effective use of legal tools at our disposal and in conjunction with our tenancy agreements.

It is important that we gather our tenants and leaseholders' views and feedback on the policy, so we are able to include, where possible, any suggested changes. We would really appreciate it if you could give us some of your time to firstly review the draft policy which can be found here and in the documents section of this page. Once you have read the policy, please complete the survey below.