Ealing Council Adopts New Strategy to Combat Hate Crime
Ealing Council has officially adopted a new strategy aimed at tackling hate crime across the borough, with a focus on prevention, improved reporting, and enhanced victim support.
The Ealing Council Hate Crime Strategy for 2026-2029, along with an accompanying action plan for 2027-2028, was approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. The strategy outlines a comprehensive approach to prevent hate crime, increase reporting and trust, support victims, and coordinate effective action through partnership working.
Councillor Jasbir Anand, Cabinet Member for Tackling Crime and Antisocial Behaviour, presented the strategy, highlighting its aim to make Ealing a place where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued. The initiative was developed in response to consultation findings that indicated under-reporting of hate crime and barriers to trust and support for victims.
Addressing Barriers to Reporting and Building Trust
The strategy directly addresses identified barriers to reporting hate crime and building trust, which were highlighted in consultation findings. Councillor Anand noted that consultation identified opportunities to further improve awareness, accessibility and confidence in reporting arrangements, particularly for communities that may face additional barriers.
These barriers are linked to factors such as language, disability, immigration status, digital exclusion, or previous experiences of discrimination. To overcome these, the strategy aims to enhance trust, strengthen community-based reporting pathways, and ensure support services are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to residents' needs.
Prevention and Awareness Initiatives, Including in Schools
The strategy places a strong emphasis on prevention and awareness. Schools are identified as playing a very vital role in preventing prejudice discrimination and hate.
To support this, Ealing has established a PSHE Network focused on promoting quality education, inclusion, respectful relationships, and challenging bullying and prejudice. The action plan will see the council collaborate with the PSHE Network, Education Services, the Health Improvement Team, and other partners to develop and promote anti-hate crime resources specifically for schools. Furthermore, the health-related behaviour service will identify emerging concerns to target support effectively.
Support for Victims and Witnesses
Ensuring victims and witnesses receive comprehensive support is a key priority. The strategy commits to providing accessible, inclusive and trauma-informed support, whether or not incidents result in criminal proceedings.
This approach acknowledges the profound impact hate-related harm can have on individuals, families, and communities, with a focus on maintaining dignity, respect, and facilitating access to practical and emotional assistance through partnerships with specialist and community organizations.
Action Against Offenders and Measuring Success
A dedicated strategic priority focuses on 'Action Against Offenders'. This aims to support effective partnership action against those who commit hate crime while also recognising the value of restorative and educational approaches where appropriate.
The strategy intends to improve intelligence sharing, data quality, and partnership responses to emerging issues, thereby increasing accountability and public confidence. While the intent to take action is clear, specific methods for measuring the effectiveness of these actions against offenders are still being developed.
Success of the strategy will be assessed through a range of indicators beyond just recorded hate crime data. Councillor Anand stated that success will not be measured solely through recorded hate crime data. While reporting trends remain important, the strategy also seeks to improve trust, accessibility, confidence and community cohesion.
Progress will be evaluated through reporting levels, victim and community feedback, engagement with under-represented communities, service accessibility, and evidence of improved partnership working. Clear measures of success will be agreed upon annually, with progress regularly reviewed.
Addressing Racially and Religiously Motivated Offences
Racially and religiously motivated offences constitute the majority of recorded hate crime in Ealing, making up 87.3% of all offences (1,403 crimes) between June 2024 and May 2026. The strategy's overarching approach, encompassing prevention, awareness, improved reporting, victim support, and action against offenders, is designed to tackle all forms of hate crime, including these prevalent categories. Specific actions, such as targeted outreach to underrepresented groups and collaboration with faith organizations, will be crucial in addressing these specific forms of hate crime.
Budget and Resource Allocation
The adoption of the strategy and its action plan has no direct financial implications. The strategy employs a flexible annual action planning approach, allowing activities to be aligned with existing approved resources and partnership capacity. The council will also actively pursue external funding opportunities from sources such as MOPAC and other grant programmes to support the implementation of the strategy.
The strategy acknowledges that while Ealing is a diverse borough with strong community cohesion, hate crime and incidents continue to affect some residents, impacting their safety, wellbeing, and sense of belonging. It emphasizes building on the borough's existing strengths while addressing remaining challenges through collaborative efforts involving residents, community organisations, faith groups, voluntary sector partners, Ealing Council, the Safer Ealing Partnership, health services, and the Metropolitan Police Service.
Councillor Anand stated, Together we can really build stronger safer and more inclusive communities where hate has no place.
The action plan will be reviewed and refreshed annually to adapt to emerging issues, community priorities, and changing evidence, ensuring a flexible and effective response to hate crime across Ealing's seven towns.
The Ealing Council Hate Crime Strategy for 2026-2029 and its accompanying action plan for 2027-2028 were approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Further details can be found in the Public reports pack.