STAMPING out hate crime in communities across Barnsley will be the number one priority for a new officer who has been drafted in to reduce incidents.
Jane Wynne, who has worked for South Yorkshire Police for more than a decade in a range of roles, will be based at Churchfield station in the town centre.
Her role will include going into schools to talk about a wide range of issues attributed to hate, including race, religion and sexuality.
It comes after the Barnsley Community Safety Partnership, which is made up of the council, police, fire service, NHS and Berneslai Homes, began working on hate crime in 2014 before a police-led campaign, Hate Hurts, was recently relaunched.
According to statistics, reported crimes have averaged between 200 and 250 per year since 2012 - a figure that’s thought to be much lower due to victims’ reluctance to report and confusion as to who is best to tell.
Jane said: “I’m looking forward to working with partners and the public to make Barnsley no place for hate.
“I have already met a lot of different community groups and feel very positive about the future we’re working together towards.
“Hate crime absolutely will not be tolerated anywhere in South Yorkshire and a key part of my role will be to challenge ignorance and misconceptions.”
Jane said she’s especially looking forward to working with schools in Barnsley to raise awareness of hate crime and the impact it can have on victims.
She added: “If you’ve been affected by hate crime, please report it, if not to police then to an agency you trust or a third party reporting centre.
“Please tell us what is happening so I can gain the best understanding of hate crime in our town. If police don’t know something is happening, we can’t take action to tackle the issues and eliminate hate.”
Barnsley schools have signed up to an action week, which runs from October 13 to 20, which will see youngsters learning more about hate crime and its effects.
