WILTSHIRE Police have emphasised their commitment to combatting hate crime.

This followed a new report into how the police respond to reports of hate crimes, and how they support victims.

Around 74 per cent of hate crime victims in the past year said they were satisfied with how the police dealt with their situation.

In 2016/2017, the force received 524 reports of hate crime in the county, most of which were race-related, though religious discrimination has increased.

In 2015/2016, the force received 527 reports - the lack of change has caused concerns that many hate crimes may be going unreported.

Wiltshire Police encourages victims and witnesses to such offences to come forward by calling 999 in an emergency or 101.

Call handlers are trained to flag 101 and 999 calls which might be related to a hate incident or hate crime and to flag cyber enabled hate crime abuse online.

Superintendent Sue Austin, force lead for hate crime, said: “Hate crimes by their very nature tend to have vulnerable victims and usually demand a high priority or immediate response.

“Hate Crime victims are referred to Horizon, our victim and witness care team, which contacts victims who are vulnerable, feel intimidated or subject to serious crime.

“We also have 42 hate crime advisors across the force, working with vulnerable people in their communities and train all new PCSOs to become hate crime advisors as part of their initial training.

“I welcome the recommendations of this report and will review our processes as a direct result to help us continue to improve our response to victims of these terrible crimes.”