HAMPSHIRE Citizen Advice staff are being recruited in the fight against hate crime.

The county’s police boss has revealed that £50,000 is to be invested in citizens advice offices to help tackle the rising numbers of hate crimes being reported in the county.

Statistics revealed that 2,184 hate crimes were reported to Hampshire Constabulary in 2016/17 - a 21 per cent increase on last year’s figures.

To mark, the National Hate Crime Awareness Week, Hampshire Police and Crime Commissioner Michael Lane confirmed that the new initiative would see all Citizens Advice offices across the county would become reporting centres.

Mr Lane said he was “deeply concerned” about the rise of hate crime, particularly after events including terrorist attacks earlier this year.

He added: “Hate crime is unacceptable. It has no place in our society; it doesn’t reflect the values of our communities. Everyone has a right to live their life free of discrimination and prejudice, to be proud of their identity and not live in fear.

“But the latest hate crime figures released also show that more people are coming forward to report hate crime when they previously might not have done so due to fear or lack of confidence. Having more independent reporting centres across the Hampshire policing area will help those most vulnerable members of our communities feel more confident to come forward and report these crimes.”

The move comes after Crown Prosecution Service Wessex reported hate crime conviction rates have improved by 3.7 per cent during the last year, achieving a 90.1 per cent success - the highest conviction rate in the country.

James Burnham, hate crime coordinator for CPS Wessex, said that one of the reasons victims gave for not reporting hate incidents was that “they don’t think they will be believed by the court and the offender will get away with it as a result”.

Royston Smith, MP for Southampton Itchen, said: “With hate crimes, people are often scared to report this directly but when they are in a room with someone they trust, for example the CAB, then maybe it is a good thing it can be reported this way.

“The only concern is how the information is extracted from the victim. They might be coming in for a talk about universal credit - it’s a jump to speak about being a victim of a hate crime in the same conversation.”

John Apter, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, also backed Mr Lane’s plans.

He added: “Sometimes with hate crimes, there might not be faith in reporting it in the more traditional ways and it has to be explored and give as many opportunities as possible to people to report the incident.“If people feel more comfortable reporting it to the CAB, and as long as the CAB has the resources to fulfil that function, it can only be a good thing.”