Great Places values the diversity of our customers and communities and want to ensure that our customers, their families and visitors are able to live without fear of abuse, harassment, intimidation or attack motivated by hate.
We understand the devastating impact on individuals, families and communities that suffer incidents motivated by hate and will work in partnership with other statutory agencies to tackle incidents, taking a zero-tolerance approach towards all forms of hate behaviour.
We are committed to working with and alongside our customers to tackle hate incidents and deliver an excellent service. This policy operates adjacent to our Anti-social Behaviour Policy which outlines are enforcement tools as a social landlord.
Our relationship with our customers goes two ways with responsibilities on both sides. We ask customers to take responsibility, with our support if needed, for looking after their home and respecting their neighbours, their community and our colleagues.
Sometimes we need to step in or assist, when we do we will do things ‘with’ not ‘for’ our customers, providing the right level of support to empower customers to tackle issues themselves wherever possible.
When things escalate or are of a serious nature, we will consider enforcement action where this is deemed necessary and appropriate having
investigated and assessed the evidence available.
Hate incidents stem from a prejudice against others based on view about their differences.
They are contrary to the central principal of diversity, where differences are respected and valued.
Hatred is a strong term that goes beyond simply causing offence or hostility. The Equality Act 2010 provides a list of protected characteristics, namely:
We recognise that harassment could also be motivated by a number of other factors including appearance, perceived differences, mannerisms, or any other prejudice.
Great Places adopts the MacPherson definition of a racist incident which states:
“A racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person”
This means that if anyone – the victim, a witness, a police officer or housing professional believes an incident may be due to racist motives or beliefs, then it will be recorded and dealt with as such by Great Places.
Great Places have adapted the MacPherson definition of racial harassment to capture the
other protected characteristics in the Equality Act as follows:
“An incident or series of incidents intended or likely to intimidate, offend or harm an individual or group because of their ethnic origin, nationality, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, age or disability.”
Harassment and hate crime can take many forms, including but not limited to:
A hate crime is a criminal offence committed against another person or their property that is motivated by hate or prejudice because of the person’s:
Great Places will keep in touch with changes in Government policies and guidelines and will continuously review this policy in a national and local context. At the time of writing, the regulatory and legal framework was as follows:
Regulatory Framework: Neighbourhood and Community Standard
Under the Neighbourhood and Community Standard, registered providers are required to publish a policy on how they work with relevant partners to prevent and tackle anti-social behaviour in areas where they own properties – this includes incidents motivated by hate.
The overall aim of this policy is to outline our approach to dealing with incidents motivated by hate.
Our key objectives are:
Incidents motivated by hate also fall under criminal law, therefore we will work with our customers to assess potential outcomes, providing information and advice on what both Great Places and the Police can do to help.
Our priority will be to prevent further incidents from occurring and ensuring those affected have the right support and are clear on the best path to find a resolution.
Great Places as a registered provider of social housing has powers that seek to prevent incidents from reoccurring. Other statutory agencies such as the police have powers to seek justice for victims following an incident, where incidents are deemed to be a hate crime.
We will work with our customers or colleagues to understand the prospects and potential outcomes of any enforcement action, obtaining consent as necessary.
When it comes to our Plumlife managed properties, our approach to dealing with incidents motivated by hate is led by the relevant leasehold covenants. On occasions, our responsibilities to customers of different tenures can cross over – in these cases we will assess
the duty we have to each party and provide clarity on the support available to address the issues they are facing, which may involve Great Places, depending on the cause of action and contractual relationship.
We will collect and review performance data we collect to report on the effectiveness of our service, including the Tenant Satisfaction Measures. Our performance will be reported to customers on a regular basis and through service updates and performance reports to our
Directors team, Executive and Great Places Board.
