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The Open Out Scheme - Helping Stop Hate Crime!
Dear Reader! I would like
to introduce myself, my name is Marie, and I have recently taken on the role
of Open Out Co-ordinator for the Cambridgeshire area. The Open Out Scheme
itself has been running since 2001, some of you may have heard of it, but
for the rest of you here’s a little overview!
Open Out is a countywide collaborative project. The main project
‘collaborators’ being,
Cambridgeshire Police,
Cambridge Racial Incident
Support Project (CRISP) and
Cambridgeshire
County Council. The scheme was set up
primarily to tackle the under-reporting of hate crimes. Hate crime is
defined as ‘…any crime where the perpetrator’s prejudice against an
identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised’.
You can be a victim of hate crime because of your religion, race, gender,
disability or sexuality.
Some people feel uncomfortable reporting hate crime incidents directly to
the police, there are a number of reasons why this might be the case. For
example, a person may not feel confident that the police will take the
appropriate action. They may fear that making a complaint will make the
situation worse. They may even worry that they will not be believed or taken
seriously. Therefore Open Out was created to tackle these kinds of problems
and try to redress the balance.
Hate crime incidents can be expressed in many ways, from name calling or
threatening behaviour, having your things taken or damaged to being beaten
up. If you or someone you know has been the victim of an incident you can
report it in complete confidence. If you report an incident it can be
investigated fully and you can get the service you deserve and the support
you need. However, if you wish to report an incident and have nothing else
done your decision will be respected and the incident will be recorded for
statistical purposes only.
You can pick up a report pack from one of our Open Out centres. The packs
contain a lot of useful information and contacts as well as a self addressed
envelope and self-report form. All information received is strictly
confidential. If you want to know where centres are just look for the true
vision eye posters in community buildings such as Victim Support in
Cambridge and the Cathedral Centre in Ely! You can also report online at
www.report-it.org.uk.Or
you can report directly (or just have a chat about Open Out) to myself Open
Out Co-ordinator Marie Mckearney Telephone: 01223 823552 alternatively you
can E-Mail me marie.mckearney@cambs.pnn.police.uk. You can also contact my
Huntingdon or Peterborough colleagues. Huntingdon Open Out Maxine West
Telephone: 01480 396490 or E-Mail her
maxine.west@hhp.org.uk.
Peterborough Open Out Karen Whatley Telephone: - 01733 742591 email
karen.whatley@peterborough.gov.uk.
Hate crime hurts. Reporting it enables Open Out agencies to highlight areas
of concern and take appropriate steps. Hate crime is UNACCEPTABLE. By
reporting it - no matter how small an incident seems - you may be able to
prevent these crimes from happening to someone else and help make
Cambridgeshire a safer place for all the community!
Open Out is sponsored by
the Community Safety
Partnerships of Cambridge City, South Cambridgeshire and East
Cambridgeshire
October 2004
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