ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author outlines some of the significant operational challenges that the police face in their efforts to prevent hate crime, brings offenders to justice, and builds positive relationships with the affected communities. He use examples from the United Kingdom (UK) to demonstrate these challenges including: the under-reporting of hate crime, the relationship between hostility and public disorder, the challenges of policing hate crime on the internet, hate crime targeting disabled victims, and the under-reporting of hate crime. In those countries such as the UK, where the Police have prosecuted Internet hate crimes, there are some important principles for courts to rule on. In 2008, the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Hate Crime Group carried out a review of existing third-party reporting schemes. Police and prosecution leaders acknowledge that there was a need to address the challenges of effectively responding to disability hate crime.
