Anti-racism campaigner 'surprised' as Doncaster's new safety strategy lacks details on addressing hate crime

Anti-racism campaigners have questioned the City of Doncaster Council’s commitment to combating hate crime after the issue was scarcely mentioned in a new Community Safety Strategy.

Tim Brown, a prominent voice on anti-racism issues in the city, said he was “surprised” that the new strategy, developed by the Safer Stronger Doncaster Partnership, only offered the “briefest of mentions” to hate crime.

It comes after Mr Brown publicly shared abhorrent, racist abuse he had received via direct message on Facebook, as well as rising incidents of hate crime in South Yorkshire, during the year to March 2025.

“Hate crime isn’t just about racism, so it’s a wide spectrum,” he said.

“Having a strategy to address these kinds of issues and support victims would have been the sensible way forward.”

Mr Brown told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that he had been informed on June 3, 2026, that South Yorkshire Police had been unable to identify the person behind the messages he’d received.

He said hate crime has serious effects on local communities. A post on Facebook about the abuse he had received attracted lots of supportive comments, with others sharing their experiences with hate crime in Doncaster.

He told the LDRS: “I was a little upset to read about people’s experiences of hate crime… and people basically saying they would leave Doncaster.

“I know, and I know for my family, how chilling it is to see those messages, especially for my children.”

Figures from the Home Office, released in October 2025, revealed the number of hate crime incidents across South Yorkshire had risen by seven per cent in the year to March 2025 – up to 4,206.

70 per cent of those were recorded as racially motivated.

Doncaster Council has previously had a strategy for combating hate crime in the city covering a period up to 2021, but there is no sign that this has been renewed.

A City of Doncaster Council spokesperson said: “Doncaster takes the issue of hate crime very seriously and we encourage victims to report incidents to the relevant authorities. Hate crime comes under the theme of anti-social behaviour within the Community Safety Strategy, and we have set out a range of actions to tackle this.

“Doncaster also has an Anti-Racism Partnership which is made up of representatives of local organisations who share a commitment to taking proactive actions to tackle racism and foster an inclusive and respectful environment for all.”

Despite hate crime receiving a single mention under the CSS’ anti-social behaviour section where previous work is detailed, it is not mentioned at all when the strategy outlines future work to be done.

The Doncaster Anti-Racism Partnership was shortlisted for an accolade at the 2025 BAME Health and Care Awards.

It is said the partnership is centred on embedding fair and transparent recruitment practices, creating shared opportunities for training and awareness-raising, and delivering clear and unified messaging which reinforces the collective commitment to becoming anti-racist organisations.

Involvement from colleagues with lived experience of racism, workplace networks, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) leads, and senior leaders are all actively involved are said to ensure that decisions are shaped by those most affected.