Wokingham

The Wokingham Borough is a safe place and to help keep it that way a hate crime reporting centre has been opened in Wokingham town centre.

The centre, at the Bradbury Centre in Rose Street, Wokingham will be a friendly place where anybody who has been the victim of a hate crime can report the incident and have a chat to a specially trained member of staff. The centre is the brainchild of CLASP (Caring, Learning And Supporting Partnership) a self-advocacy group for people with learning disabilities and is open for anybody to use.

Hate crime is a crime or harassment motivated by hatred of another person simply because of their race, sexuality, religion, disability or gender. Through the opening of Wokingham reporting centres the council hopes that victims and witnesses of hate crimes will be encouraged to report incidents, other than to the police or the council, in confidence. People can give as much or as little information as they wish. By reporting these incidents victims and witnesses can help agencies to identify issues and take action against perpetrators, support victims and prevent escalation.

Wokingham Borough Council community safety officer Carol-Anne Bidwell said: “The Wokingham borough is an extremely safe place to live and the idea behind this reporting centre is to help keep it that way. This is about preventing major problems rather than reacting to them - as the expression goes, you don’t wait for rain before you fix your roof. The vast majority of Wokingham Borough residents treat each other with respect and would be revolted by any hate crime, and yet hate crimes do occur everywhere and so this centre will offer practical help.

“Victims of hate crime do not always want to go to the police – they may have had their confidence shattered or they may just not want to bother the police and this centre will provide a place they can go to report – in confidence if necessary – any problems.”

The reporting centre was opened on Friday January 29 along with a Wokingham internet café for people with learning disabilities that is also based at the Bradbury Centre in Rose Street.

Vicky Stubbs, who will run the reporting centre, said: “The training has helped me understand what a hate crime is and how I can help people who have been a victim of one. I will be able to listen and talk to people one-to-one and what they tell me can remain confidential.”

The internet café is being run by the council’s prevention team to provide social, stimulating opportunities in the community for people who may not otherwise be able to get online.

Lisa Hookway, who is running the Wokingham café, said: “Many of us take the internet for granted because we use it at home or work every day. But that is not the case for everybody and this café will be a place for people who may be less familiar with it to get online in a friendly, supporting atmosphere and to start exploring the world wide web.”

The internet cafe and the reporting centre will be open every Friday from 1pm to 3pm and the cost is £2 for the use of internet. The café is also for lunch, snacks, tea or coffee.

Wokingham Borough Council