VICTIMS of hate crime will be able to use libraries across York and North Yorkshire to report offences.

The county’s police force is rolling out the “third-party reporting centres” as part of its on-going battle against hate crime.

This includes offensive language or verbal abuse, offensive graffiti or literature, physical attack, damage to property, arson and continuous malicious allegations.

The scheme will allow victims of hate crime – which can involve race, language, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender or age – to report what has happened to them to someone other than the police.

Coun Ruth Potter, York’s Labour representative on North Yorkshire Police Authority, said as police were not always seen as the first point of contact for victims of this type of crime, the new centres would improve the service police officers provided to minority communities.

“Some people, for whatever reason, such as fear of repercussions, are worried to go directly to police stations to report being a victim of hate crime.

“These centres will give victims of this type of crime, who feel vulnerable, alternative ways to report the matter to police, in an environment where they feel safe.

“Hopefully, this will encourage more reporting of hate crime, which in turn will lower the number of cases in North Yorkshire.”

A report from a police authority meeting earlier this month, when the scheme was approved, said all libraries in North Yorkshire and York would now act as third-party reporting centres.

It said: “Once all library staff have been trained by the police Single Point Of Contact (SPOC) in each safer neighbourhoods team, there will be a county-wide launch of the scheme.

“Following on from each library as a centre, it will be the responsibility of the SPOC to identify any other agency/ premises that would provide them with bespoke reporting facilities.”

A victim or witness would not have to give their personal details to the reporting centre, and so could remain anonymous if they wished. This would still allow the police and other agencies to gather information on the levels of hate crime, identify hotspots and share intelligence.

A third-party reporting centre would also be able to refer victims and witnesses to other relevant agencies which offer support, advice and information.