Crime and abuse
Jump to section
UNDERSTANDING CRIME
A crime is a deliberate act that causes physical or psychological harm, damage to or loss of property, and is against the law. Find out more here.
You can learn more about what different types of crime are here.
URGENT CRIMES OR INCIDENTS
If you need urgent help, call 999.
If there is an emergency, you should contact someone immediately:
Does it feel like the situation could get heated or violent very soon?
Is someone in immediate danger?
Do you need support right away?
If so, please call 999 now. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, use the textphone service 18000 or text 999 if you’ve pre-registered with the emergencySMS service.
If you’re in an emergency situation and need police help, but can’t speak, Make Yourself Heard and let the 999 operator know your call is genuine.
NON-URGENT CRIMES OR INCIDENTS
Report non-urgent crimes online here.
A 100% anonymous crime reporting service that gives you the power to stop crime. Whatever is happening, you can report it and Crimestoppers will send the information to the relevant authorities to act upon. You can visit the website or call 0800 555 111.
DISCRIMINATION AND HATE CRIMES
Hate crime is an act of violent behaviour or hostility that is usually motivated by hatred of a person’s disability, age, race, religion, transgender identity or sexual orientation. You can find out more here.
Stop Hate UK is one of the leading national organisations working to challenge all forms of Hate Crime and discrimination, based on any aspect of an individual’s identity. Stop Hate UK provides independent, confidential and accessible reporting and support for victims, witnesses and third parties. Call the Stop Hate Line 24 hours a day on 0800 138 1625.
Crimes committed against someone because of their disability, transgender identity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation are hate crimes and should be reported to the police.
Most hateful or violent website content is not illegal but you can still take the steps listed on this site to have it removed if it upsets, scares or offends you.
TellMAMA supports victims of anti-Muslim hate and is a public service which also measures and monitors anti-Muslim incidents. It is not meant to be a replacement for the Police Service. You can report on the site or call 0800 456 1226 or text 0115 707 0007.
CST protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats, working across the Jewish community including both religious and secular Jews. To report an incident of antisemitism, you can visit the site or call their National Emergency Number on 0800 032 3263.
You can get information and support as a Gypsy, Roma or Traveller person from FFT by visiting their website or calling 01273 234 777 between Monday-Friday, 10am-4:30pm.
Have you been a victim of a hate crime because of your learning disability or autism? Here’s an easy read guide to what you need to do.
VICTIM SUPPORT, INCLUDING WITNESSES
If you’ve been a victim of crime you have the right to receive a certain level of service from the criminal justice system.
If you have seen or heard about a crime, or been the victim of one, you may have to talk about what happened at court. This is called giving evidence and by doing this you will be a witness. Lots of young people go to court as witnesses, so don’t feel that you’re alone. Remember, you haven’t done anything wrong, and you will have lots of support. Find out more here.
Everyone reacts differently to experiencing crime. How you react depends on lots of different things — such as the crime itself, the sort of person you are, and the support you have around you. If you have been the victim of a crime, you can get support via this site or you can call 0808 168 9111.