Kent Police is urging the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender community to report homophobic and hate crimes by using its free 24-hour Kent Homophobic and Transphobic Reporting Line.

It follows a recent case where two women from Whitstable were found guilty of homophobic harassment.

One woman received a 24-month supervision order and was ordered to pay £625 costs. The other was given an immediate jail sentence of 150 days.

The Kent Homophobic and Transphobic Reporting Line [0800 328 9162] is run by call handlers who have been specifically trained to deal with sensitive incidents and can transfer crime reports to the police.

It is operated jointly by Kent's 13 crime and disorder reduction partnerships.
 
"Hate crime is unacceptable and we are working with partner organisations to ensure the community understands this behaviour is not tolerated and Kent Police will investigate each reported incident thoroughly," said Assistant Chief Constable Dave Ainsworth of Kent Police.
 
"We understand how important it is for anyone who has experienced hate crime to have immediate access to advice and support."

"The reporting line meets that need. We urge the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community to use it so we can work together to ensure offenders are prosecuted. We believe hate crime is under-reported," he added.
 
The reminder to report hate crime is part of Kent Police's campaign to raise awareness in the run-up to the International Day Against Homophobia on Saturday.

The campaign includes a seminar to commemorate IDAHO, organised by Kent Police and Kent County Council this Saturday afternoon at the Kent Police College in Maidstone.
 
Seminar speakers will include Ben Summerskill, commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and chief executive of gay rights group Stonewall.
 
Mark Carrington from Kent's Crown Prosecution Service will speak about the prosecution of hate crime in the county and victim support. 

Mick Cronin, community liaison officer for Kent Police, and Roger Newman MBE, from the Alzheimer's Society's lesbian and gay network, will speak about the Kent Homophobic and Transphobic Reporting Line.
 
Reported incidents of hate crime dropped by 6.3% to 1,150 between April 2007 and March 2008, compared to the 1,227 incidents recorded during the same period in the previous year.

There were 165 crimes involving homophobic prejudice and 12 of transphobic prejudice during the April 2007 to March 2008 period.

"It's important that everyone in Kent feels safe and respected," said Kevin Lynes, KCC cabinet member for Equality and Diversity.

"In today's modern and diverse society, international awareness events such as IDAHO help to highlight the support available for anyone experiencing hate crime or abuse, and encourages us all to work together to stop hate crime."

"Anyone who experiences crimes of this form should feel more confident that there is now help and support available."
 
More information about the reporting line can be found on the Kent Police website.

International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO): Saturday 17 May 2008. Find out more at www.idahomophobia.org and www.idaho.org.uk.

All week we’ll be bringing you an extensive selection of interviews and features to mark the International Day Against Homophobia on Saturday 17 May. So check back tomorrow when our coverage continues with an article on Global Homo Hate and we launch the Gaydar.co.uk police profiles online.

You can follow all our IDAHO coverage by clicking here.

Useful Links: To campaign against homophobia: www.outrage.org.uk and www.idaho.org.uk Broken Rainbow, for domestic violence: www.broken-rainbow.org.uk  Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group: www.uklgig.org.uk UK Lesbian and Gay Switchboards: www.switchboard.org.uk Stonewall’s new freephone info hotline offers advice and referrals on a wide range of topics from hate crime to discrimination in the provision of goods and services: 08000 50 20 20: www.stonewall.org.uk If you need to report a homophobic incident there are several ways to do it: In an emergency you should always dial 999. In a non-emergency situation you can contact your local police station direct. You might prefer to contact your local LGBT Police Liaison Officer – their contacts can be obtained online, usually via a Community Safety Unit: www.met.police.uk/csu, of via the police profiles on Gaydar, www.gaydar.co.uk. You may prefer to report via a third-party reporting site such as Galop (www.galop.org.uk), London Friend (www.londonfriend.org.uk), or the police funded True Vision wesbite (www.report-it.org.uk) either on the record or anonymously.