VICTIMS of hate crime who are too scared to turn to police can now report attacks to staff at Basildon Council’s headquarters.

The Basildon Centre, in St Martin’s Square, has been officially unveiled as a designated hate incident reporting centre.

It comes after Essex Police revealed the number of hate crimes in the county went up by almost 20 per cent last year – with racist incidents rising by 46 per cent.

Despite the shocking statistics, officers have welcomed the emergence of the figures as they believe hate crime is vastly under-reported – and this needs to change.

At a Stop the Hate conference in June, Essex Police revealed plans to set up a network of reporting centres staffed by specially-trained hate crime ambassadors.

The Basildon Centre is one of the first to open its doors.

Councillor Terri Sargent, cabinet member for environment and community, said: “Crucial to making residents feel safe in their communities is reducing crime in the borough.

“Hate crime or hate incidents are often under-reported by people.

This is often because individuals do not know how they can report it.

“With the launch of this new centre, it is hoped this will give people greater confidence to report these incidents rather than tolerating them.”

The idea of the centre is to create an environment where victims feel safe and comfortable.

The council’s anti-social behaviour team handles initial complaints and supports distressed members of the public before passing information on to police and other organisations.

Hate crime is a criminal offence believed to be motivated by prejudice towards a person’s race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability or sexuality.

To report an incident to the centre, call the team on 01268 533333 or email asb@ basildon.gov.uk, or contact Basildon Council’s hate crime ambassador on 01268 294329 or shamrika.sydes@basildon.gov.uk