Crime or hate incident

What we mean by a crime or hate incident

Crime

A crime can be defined as an intentional act that is against the law and causes physical or psychological harm, damage to or loss of property. Criminal acts might include but are not limited to:

  • Domestic violence (including honour-based violence)
  • Stalking
  • Theft and robbery

Hate incident

A hate incident is an incident that has been motivated by a prejudice against an individual for one or more of the following characteristics or presumed characteristics:

  • Race
  • Nationality
  • Religion
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Sex
  • Gender (Transgender) Identity
  • Disability

Examples of hate incidents might include but are not limited to:

  • Verbal abuse or insults
  • Harassment
  • Bullying
  • Physical attacks
  • Threats of violence

What support is available to you

If you have been subject to or witnessed a crime or hate incident, please remember it is not your fault, and we encourage you report this to the police and/or University as soon as possible. You can use the Online Incident Reporting Portal to report incidents of domestic violence, bullying and harassment, stalking, hate incidents, sexual violence, and other welfare concerns to the University. Student Wellbeing and Inclusivity (SWAI) can also provide emotional and practical support.

If you have been subject to a hate incident by another student, you may also wish to undertake the University disciplinary procedures.

Should you submit a Mitigating Circumstance claim

If a crime or hate incident has negatively impacted your assessment or academic performance, then please submit a Mitigating Circumstances (MC) claim after your assessment.

What your Mitigating Circumstances claim for a crime and/or hate incident should include

  • As much detail as possible detail of the crime or hate incident including dates.
  • A full explanation outlining how your circumstance(s) has impacted your academic performance in your assessment(s).
  • Which assessment(s) were impacted by the circumstances outlined in your claim by selecting the relevant components on the online form.
  • If you can provide evidence that will verify and support your claim, you should include this. However, we recognise that it can be challenging to gather evidence for some claims so please submit your claim anyway. If you can provide evidence, the following (non-exhaustive list) would be accepted:
    • Crime reference number
  • You do not need to provide evidence if you have experienced a hate incident.
  • If you have received support from Student Wellbeing and Inclusivity (SWAI) for the circumstances outlined in your claim, you can ask SWAI to provide the evidence via the tick box in Student Self-Service.