'Unity works in fight against hate crime' - police

Ch Supt Fiona Willey said a new multi-year plan to tackle hate crime was about showing "unity" between agencies

A new plan to tackle hate crime in York and North Yorkshire has been signed by representatives from councils, the police force and the combined authority.

A ceremony took place at a conference in York focusing on hate crime and aimed at making the city and county safer.

Officials said the three-year strategy which had been agreed set out their "shared vision and commitment to tackling hate crime and fostering safer, more inclusive communities".

Ch Supt Fiona Willey, chair of North Yorkshire Community Safety Partnership, said: "This is really about showing that unity and partnerships work - that we are joined up and here to support our communities."

Ch Supt Willey said "every" report of a hate crime was "dealt with, as it would be any other crime, to make sure we get the justice that's deserved for those people that are reporting".

Recent Home Office figures showed a slight rise in the number of hate crime offences motivated by religion recorded by North Yorkshire Police in 2024-25, compared to 2023-24.

As well as a particular focus on antisemitism, North Yorkshire Police said this week's conference on hate crime would tackle "incel" subculture and violence against women and girls.

Ch Supt Willey said "targeted" programmes would be set up in schools and youth clubs so young people could gain awareness of the issues involved.

"That, for me, is where we start with that whole prevention and changing mindsets, really," she said.

Representatives of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, councils and police signed the new plan

City of York Labour councillor Michael Pavlovic said while under-reporting of hate crimes was an issue, there had still been an increase in hate crime reporting over the past two years.

"That's great because it's important people feel confident that when they do report an incident or a crime, they are taken seriously," he said.

Meanwhile, Jo Coles, York and North Yorkshire's deputy mayor for policing, encouraged people to report incidents, even if they were unsure whether or not it was a hate crime.

Coles said: "If people feel they've been targeted because of race, gender, sexual orientation or religion, please reach out to the police."

She added that threats of violence which were made online were "exactly the same" as in-person hate crimes.

"They make people feel incredibly targeted and unsafe," she explained.

York councillor Michael Pavlovic said it was important for victims of hate crimes to feel confident reporting them

Conservative councillor Heather Phillips, executive member for corporate services at North Yorkshire Council, praised the partnership between North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council.

Joining forces would better allow the two authorities to "share data and identify areas of concern" and so strengthen resources, she said.

Phillips added that some effort would need to be made to keep the public up to date on the scheme's progress.

"I imagine it will be fairly transparent," she said, adding that they would "have to obviously be sensitive".

"But it's more about informing the policy going forward and making sure that resource is targeted effectively."

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.