Services specifically for hate crime offenders – funded by the Commissioner

Our Ref: 27 August 2020 - NY5488

I write in connection with your request for information that was received by the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire (OPFCC) on 23^rd July 2020. Please accept our apologies for the delay in providing you with a response.

I note you seek access to the following information:

Please provide details of any grants awarded by the Office of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner in the financial years 2017-2018, 2018-2019, and 2019-20 for which at least one of the outputs/outcomes was to provide services specifically for hate crime offenders. This could be any form of work with hate crime offenders, such as counselling, information and advice, training, community work, or casework, for instance. 

Please provide details of the grant including the amount, the service provider and the services provided. Please also provide any project reports and evaluations carried out of such services. 

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To locate the information relevant to your request searches were conducted within the OPFCC.

I can confirm that the information you have requested is held by the OPFCC.

Decision 

I have today decided to disclose the located information to you.

In response to this request, whilst we did not provide funding specifically for projects for hate crime ‘offenders’, we did provide funding for the projects below, targeted towards those who may be more likely to have prejudice views / require a greater understanding of hate crime and diversity:

2017-18:

• Connecting Youth Culture ‘One Community’ project, North Yorkshire countywide
  • £11,970 funding awarded
  • One Community aimed to address diversity issues within targeted local communities and support young people to understand these better through the use of art. The project was targeted towards vulnerable groups within these communities to help them to celebrate difference.  Aiming to build awareness and celebrate these diversities with young people across the County, by creating an exhibition project where a targeted area within each district work with artists and qualified staff to create a large scale piece of art that represents their own communities. Each district worked with a Connecting Youth Culture facilitator and artist to design and create a six week arts project within a targeted setting that was identified in partnership by local need, to celebrate the diversity within their own communities.

We also funded two a training/awareness raising projects for professionals; links are here:

• https://www.northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk/for-you/fund/community-fund-projects-201718/#stop-hate-uk-signposting-and-reporting-training-countywide
• https://www.northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk/for-you/fund/community-fund-projects-201718/#north-yorkshire-black-police-association-stephen-lawrence-25-year-memorial-day-workshop

2018-19:

• Wake-Up Call, North Yorkshire Youth, Countywide
• £17,159 funding  awarded
• Funding has supported the countywide pilot and roll out of Wake up Call; a course for young people at risk of disengagement, school exclusion and those engaging in low level racist/ political behaviour or hate crime.  The course sits in the pre Prevent space focussing on the lower level hate crime agenda, a key priority of North Yorkshire Police’s Children and Young People’s strategy and North Yorkshire Youth Commission.  Supporting the Police and Crime plan objective to reduce harm to those at greater risk, the programme aims include re-routing negative views, beliefs and behaviour into positive attitudes used in young people’s daily life. Sessions look at views of hate crime, faith, racism and disorder from different perspectives, through an interactive, train the trainer approach built around a number of thought provoking and creative activities.  This approach is supported by NYY Youth Mentors who also deliver this module in a 1-2-1 environment to supplement their work with hard to reach young people and Youth Commissioners will be invited to peer educate young people using their Hate crime workshop.

2019-20:

• There were no relevant grants made in relation to the request during 2019 -20

Please note that systems used for recording information are not generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data.  It should be noted therefore that the OPFCC’s response to your questions should not be used for comparison purposes with any other responses you may receive.