Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville, Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, Cllr Sade Etti, Hackney’s No Place for Hate Champion, and Neighbourhood Superintendent Andy Port respond to the Community Security Trust’s (CST) 2020 Anti-Semitism report.

“As proud representatives of our welcoming, inclusive and diverse borough - where people from all walks of life live and work side-by-side - we recognise the importance of tackling racism and hate crime in everything that we do. We have been clear that Hackney - which is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the country - is no place for anti-Semitism. 

“Whilst we welcome the decrease in national anti-Semitic incidents highlighted in the CST’s report, one incident of anti-Semitism is one too many, and we want to reassure our communities that we will continue to do everything we can to bring those commiting such crimes to justice, ensure that victims receive the support and help that they need and to tackle this scourge on our society.

“Our official strategy for tackling hate crime outlines the steps we’re taking to make Hackney no place for hate. Since the Strategy’s launch in 2019, we have provided 100 Council staff and partners with hate crime awareness training in partnership with Stop Hate UK, held awareness stands with Council staff and police partners to encourage residents to share their ideas on how to tackle hate crime and produced a ‘no place for hate’ reporting leaflet for use by Council teams and community partners to promote reporting hate crime.

“The Council and Police work closely together to review patterns of anti-Semitic incidents in order to target joint patrols and community reassurance work, which have led to the identification, arrest and conviction of people who’ve committed anti-Semitic hate crimes. This joint approach has led to the arrest of over 170 people for hate crimes in Hackney over the past year, including for abuse on public transport and the recent arrest of the person responsible for multiple offences of anti-Semitic graffiti on bus stops in Hackney. The Police, Council and neighbourhood watch group Shomrim worked closely together to quickly identify the person responsible for this abhorrent crime and to bring them to justice through a successful conviction at court. 

“Hate crime has a profound impact on the lives of those affected by it, and we work with Community Alliance to Combat Hate (CATCH) to ensure that victims of hate crime get the support that they need. We recognise that hate crime also has a significant impact on our communities as a whole, which is why we work all year round with our schools and community groups to tackle hate crime and extremist views in our borough. This includes supporting two Building a Stronger Britain Together-funded programmes, which have specifically addressed hate crime, including anti-Semitism, with local young people and their families. We also work closely with our partners and communities to tackle far-right extremism and other forms of radicalisation through the Prevent programme.

“However, we recognise that more needs to be done. We will continue to work with all our partners and communities to combat hate, improve the way reporting operates and leave no stone unturned to bring offenders to justice. We are constantly in contact with our partners across all communities to bring about more confidence for victims to come forward and report hate crime.

“If you’ve experienced or witnessed a hate crime, you may feel afraid to report it, or believe that there’s nothing you can do about it - but every report made will help us to bring those responsible to justice. No matter how small you think an incident is, please report it, and become part of the movement to make Hackney no place for hate.”

If you’ve been affected by hate crime, you can:

• Report it to the police by calling 999 in an emergency, and 101 in other situations.
• If you’re deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired, call the Police’s 999 textphone in emergencies on 18000. You can also text 999 if you’ve pre-registered for the Emergency SMS service on bit.ly/emergency-sms. In non-emergencies, call the textphone: 180001 101.
• If you do not wish to contact the Police, you can contact Stop Hate UK on 0800 138 1625 for free, confidential advice and support.
• Report offensive graffiti to the Council
• Contact North London Victim Support for free local support on 0808 186 9291 (8am-8pm Monday to Friday) or 0808 1689 111 at all other times. You can also request support online.