A MAJOR campaign has been launched in a bid to stamp out race hate crime in Wrexham.

The All Sorts campaign, unveiled at Wrexham’s Guildhall on Monday, has been devised by the council under the banner of One Wrexham.

The three-pronged campaign features a public-awareness initiative, the launch of third-party reporting centres to encourage victims of race hate crime to report incidents and an educational element working with children and young people.

The public campaign uses an image of Liquorice Allsorts under the strapline: “Racism comes from all sorts of people! Hate hurts! Wrexham does not tolerate race hate crime.”

The idea behind the image is to demonstrate that racism can come in a variety of forms and from many sectors in the community. It has also been used to illustrate that a community consists of many different people from differing cultures and backgrounds.

Wrexham County Borough Council leader Cllr Aled Roberts said: “We are committed as a community to make this work. This isn’t a council initiative, it’s a community initiative.

“Racism is not a new issue, it is a phenomenon that has been with us for many years. We have to challenge long- term views and this is a long-term commitment. We want to make Wrexham a greater, happier, friendlier place to live in.”

A range of harder-hitting posters depicting victims of race-hate crimes have also been produced to promote the launch of the third-party reporting centres.

Research showed victims of hate crime may be reluctant to report incidents to police and can fear reprisals from the perpetrator.

The council has developed a network of community venues for victims of hate crimes to make a confidential report.

These will include all the council’s housing area housing offices, the Salvation Army headquarters in Rhosddu and BAWSO (Black Association of Women Step Out) in the town centre.

Wanjiku Mbugua, manager of BAWSO, said: “We have had a lot of women coming into our offices to report race hate issues. They range from people being called names, racist writing on victim’s homes and people mimicking monkey cries.

“People ask what good it will do if they report these incidents to the police. They think it will only get them into more trouble.

“Just because somebody is black or speaks with an accent does not mean Wrexham is not their home too. We have to stress that immigration has become part of the world. This should be accepted by the people of Wrexham too.”

The campaign has also initiated a project working with young people.

This consists of a group of local youngsters who researched the nature and possible causes of race hatred to enable them to develop a peer education programme.

Working with partner agencies and the Wrexham Community Safety Partnership, the council hopes the holistic campaign will raise awareness of the issue, influence opinion in a positive way and increase public confidence to report race-hate crimes. It should also deliver a more co-ordinated range of support for victims.