Group to tackle hate crime issues with county youth
AS part of a crackdown on hate crime and a grant has been awarded to Llanelli-based The Olive Trust to deliver a number of hate crime events aimed towards youths in colleges and universities in the Dyfed-Powys region.
Denise Kingsley, the trust’s CEO, says that the funding from the Dyfed-Powys police and crime commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn ‘is a fantastic opportunity’ for them to engage with 16-24 year olds and encourage education and information about hate crime in colleges and universities, therefore encouraging a large amount of students to attend in a short time span.
A series of diversity mornings and drop-in centres are to be held, where youths can speak to someone about hate crime.
Hate crime is any crime committed against someone because of their disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation and should be reported to the police, however, youngsters may feel uncomfortable about coming forward or may feel it does not merit a complaint being lodged.
Crime figures state Llanelli has the highest amount of hate crimes in the Dyfed-Powys region, with race being the main crime reported and where it is proposed the first event will be held.
“We hope to be the agency people contact in the case of thirdparty reporting where, we can be the liaison between the victim and the police. Further funding is being sort from the lottery and private organisations for further drop-ins and campaigns,” said Ms Kingsley.
The Olive Trust was founded by Ms Kingsley in 2011 and is chaired by Alan Lloyd, former Lord Mayor of Swansea, and has been instrumental in equality training, diabetes inclusion and hate crime reporting within the Dyfed-Powys region.