Launch of Wokingham True Vision
Wokingham Borough Council and Thames Valley Police have joined forces to launch the True Vision campaign to tackle hate crime.
Hate crime is a crime or harassment motivated by hatred of another person simply because of their race, sexuality, religion, disability or gender. Historically they have often been under-reported, but the police and borough council hope to change that in the Wokingham borough.
True Vision is a national initiative to make it easier for people to report hate crimes and it is being launched in the Wokingham borough with a family fun day in Market Place, Wokingham from 10am to 3pm on Friday August 31. True Vision has a dedicated website that provides information on hate crimes and which will also allow residents to report hate crimes online. At the launch event, police officers will be on hand to discuss True Vision, to provide general crime reduction advice and hand out information packs about how to stay safe.
But the serious message will be mixed with fun and those attending will have the chance to win some fantastic prizes in a lucky draw – including a round of golf for four at Wokefield Park Golf Club in Mortimer, weekend breaks at one of De Vere’s luxury hotels, a digital camera and mobile phones. Children will also be entertained with a chance to explore a mobile CCTV van, take part in a colouring competition, have their hands painted by henna artists and listen to Indian drummers.
Tesco, De Vere Hotels, Wokefield Park Golf Club, Happy Monsters in Reading Road, Winnersh, WH Smiths in Wokingham and Waitrose in Wokingham have all kindly backed the event.
True Vision will see reporting centres established at locations around the Wokingham borough and at each centre a community champion will be on hand to help anybody report a hate crime. The Wokingham community champions will be trained volunteers who will be able to take the details of the crime and pass these on to the police for investigation without the victim having to speak directly with the police. Victims can remain anonymous, and the police will only investigate crimes with the victim’s consent. This system is known as third party reporting and has been introduced to encourage victims who may be unwilling or unable to reach a police station to come forward. In other parts of the country reporting centres have been set up in venues such as pubs, places of worship and community centres.
Wokingham Borough Council community safety officer Carol-Anne Jennings, who is responsible for reducing hate crime, said: “Hate crime is a serious problem and we need to work together to support victims and bring perpetrators to justice. The True Vision launch will be fun, with plenty of activities to keep children and adults entertained, while we also get this important message across.”
Hate crime is a crime or harassment motivated by hatred of another person simply because of their race, sexuality, religion, disability or gender. Historically they have often been under-reported, but the police and borough council hope to change that in the Wokingham borough.
True Vision is a national initiative to make it easier for people to report hate crimes and it is being launched in the Wokingham borough with a family fun day in Market Place, Wokingham from 10am to 3pm on Friday August 31. True Vision has a dedicated website that provides information on hate crimes and which will also allow residents to report hate crimes online. At the launch event, police officers will be on hand to discuss True Vision, to provide general crime reduction advice and hand out information packs about how to stay safe.
But the serious message will be mixed with fun and those attending will have the chance to win some fantastic prizes in a lucky draw – including a round of golf for four at Wokefield Park Golf Club in Mortimer, weekend breaks at one of De Vere’s luxury hotels, a digital camera and mobile phones. Children will also be entertained with a chance to explore a mobile CCTV van, take part in a colouring competition, have their hands painted by henna artists and listen to Indian drummers.
Tesco, De Vere Hotels, Wokefield Park Golf Club, Happy Monsters in Reading Road, Winnersh, WH Smiths in Wokingham and Waitrose in Wokingham have all kindly backed the event.
True Vision will see reporting centres established at locations around the Wokingham borough and at each centre a community champion will be on hand to help anybody report a hate crime. The Wokingham community champions will be trained volunteers who will be able to take the details of the crime and pass these on to the police for investigation without the victim having to speak directly with the police. Victims can remain anonymous, and the police will only investigate crimes with the victim’s consent. This system is known as third party reporting and has been introduced to encourage victims who may be unwilling or unable to reach a police station to come forward. In other parts of the country reporting centres have been set up in venues such as pubs, places of worship and community centres.
Wokingham Borough Council community safety officer Carol-Anne Jennings, who is responsible for reducing hate crime, said: “Hate crime is a serious problem and we need to work together to support victims and bring perpetrators to justice. The True Vision launch will be fun, with plenty of activities to keep children and adults entertained, while we also get this important message across.”
Wokingham Borough Council
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