Community Safety

Victoria Police has strengthened its commitment to reducing prejudice motivated crime in Victoria by introducing a Prejudice Motivated Crime Strategy.

What is a prejudice motivated crime?

A prejudice motivated crime is a crime motivated by prejudice or hatred towards a person or a group because of a particular characteristic such as sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, race, sex, age, disability or homelessness.

Many crimes can be motivated by prejudice, including harassment, threats, verbal abuse, destroying or damaging property, and in more serious cases, physical violence.

An example of a prejudice motivated crime:

A vehicle parked overnight in the front yard of a property was spray painted with the words, 'kill all blacks'.

In this case, the damage to the property was motivated by prejudice against the owner of the vehicle, because of his/her race. This prejudice motivated crime not only affects the direct victim of the crime, but all people that identify with the victim's race.

Reporting prejudice motivated crime

We know that for a range of reasons, many people do not report prejudice motivated crimes to police. This makes it difficult for police to investigate the crimes and to prevent them from recurring.

If you are a victim of prejudice motivated crime, please contact your local police station. You can also report anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

If you require additional support to report to police, you can contact one of our many community liaison officers. Please select from the links below.

• Aboriginal Advisory Unit
• Multicultural Liaison Officers
• New and Emerging Community Liaison Officers
• Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers

To speak to a Youth Resource Officer in your area, please contact the Youth Advisory Unit on (03) 9247 5300

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has launched an anti-hate campaign, inviting the public to share their experiences of discrimination.
Click here to view.
 

Further Information

Serious racial and religious vilification offences are legislated under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001, click here for further information.

	Prejudice Motivated Crime Brochure
	Prejudice Motivated Crime Poster

Contact Us

For further information on prejudice motivated crime contact:

Corporate Strategy and Governance Department
Victoria Police Centre
P.O Box 919
Melbourne 3000
Tel: (03) 9247 6192.

Further Contacts

The Victims Support Agency
The Victim Support Agency (VSA) provides a support service for victims of crime.
The VSA can be contacted on telephone 1800 819 817 or TTY: 86621730.
Information on VSA services can be found at www.justice.vic.gov.au

The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC)
Complaints about racial and religious vilification under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 can be made to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission.
Information about vilification can be found at www.veohrc.vic.gov.au/vilification .
The Commission can be contacted on:
Phone: 1300 292 153
Interpreters: 1300 152 494
TTY: 1300 289 621
Email: enquiries@veohrc.vic.gov.au

The Australian Human Rights Commission
Complaints about racial hatred under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 can be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
GPO Box 5218
SYDNEY NSW 2001
Complaints Infoline: 1300 656 419
Email: complaintsinfo@humanrights.gov.au