Any form of hate crime is ‘abhorrent’ and will not be tolerated by local authorities.
That’s the message Cheshire police want to get across as Chester gears up for its third annual Chester Pride festival which will take place in the city centre on Saturday (October 3).
The city streets will be awash with the colours of the rainbow on Saturday as Chester celebrates the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community, and to show his support to the event, the county’s Police & Crime Commissioner John Dwyer will be taking part in the parade march through the city that will comprise a host of local LGBT friendly groups, organisations, charities and businesses.
He warned that the force would not tolerate any hate crime before, after or during the festival and said there would be a policing presence on the day itself.
“Hate crime is abhorrent and shouldn’t be tolerated by anyone,” he said. “No-one should be persecuted for being who they want to be. This is the message that myself and the Chief Constable Simon Byrne want to spread around the county.”
Related : See here for a full guide to this year's Chester Pride.
Chief Inspector Paul Williams, from Chester Local Policing Unit added: “Offering a policing presence at Chester Pride is fantastic and is a great way for us to remind people that we’re here to support the communities of Cheshire, where and when they need us. If you have any issues, tell us and we’ll listen to you and provide the care and support you need.
“We’re not here to prevent people having fun on Saturday; we just want to make sure everyone enjoys the event.”
And on October 10, Cheshire Constabulary will also be launching a campaign to tackle some of the taboo around hate crime as well as encourage people to come forward and report it.
The force have launched a survey to start the conversation about hate crime which you can take part in by visiting www.cheshire.police.uk to take part now.
To see how we covered last year's Chester Pride, click here .
