Hate crime: Police say ‘only a matter of time’ until people are arrested for homophobic attacks

West Midlands Police are investigating named suspects for homophobic attacks against John-Paul Kessler and Matt Brooks.

Both men were attacked recently while they visited Birmingham’s Gay Village.

Mr Kessler was hit with a bottle as he held hands with another man in Holloway Circus in the latest incident in the early hours of last Sunday (October 10).

Weeks earlier he had stepped in to help Matt Brooks when he was punched in the face in the Gay Village.

Police say it is ‘only a matter of time’ until they arrest named suspects for both incidents.

They have also arrested three men aged 24, 21 and 31 for attacking two men in their 30s with bottles on August 15 and are awaiting a charging decision from the CPS.

The victims had been earlier subjected to homophobic abuse shouted from a passing car on Bromsgrove Street.

West Midlands Police said that hate crime and keep people safe in Birmingham’s nightlife centres is a priority for them.

The are running operations across weekends into the early hours with high-visibility and plain clothes patrols, plus regular police vehicle patrols.

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “Everyone should feel safe and comfortable to be who they are, we will not tolerate people being targeted in this way. This sort of offence is totally unacceptable.

“Anyone who commits crime motivated by hate must understand we take it extremely seriously and that they face time in prison.”

West Midlands Police said that they attended the protests outside the Nightingale club on Thursday evening to stand in solidarity with the community and to listen to their concerns.

What does the West Midlands Police Birmingham team say about hate crime?

Superintendent James Littlehales from Birmingham Police said: “We’ve been running perpetrator-focused operations in Broad Street and the Gay Village for the past few months, looking to identify suspicious behaviour and prevent a wide range of offences from happening. This will continue and I’ve dedicated more officers to patrol the area.

“We’ll be working with door staff, venues, Street Wardens and partygoers. If you’re out in the Gay Village and you see anything that concerns you – let someone know. The Safe Haven in the Arcadian is a safe space for everyone to visit too.

“My team will looking at other initiatives we can put in place, including things we can do in conjunction with other organisations. But let me be clear – our focus is firmly on the perpetrators of these crimes – hate has no place in our city and we must intervene to stop hate crime at the earliest possible opportunity.”

What does West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster say about hate crime?

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster, said: “The recent abhorrent, vicious homophobic attacks in Birmingham are a disgrace.

“For someone to be assaulted because of who they are or who they love is simply not acceptable.

“I have commissioned a new £200,000 service to support victims of hate crime and I am pleased West Midlands Police has stepped up patrols in the Gay Village.

“Hate will not win and our message to the homophobes is that they do not represent Birmingham, and they never will. We are a diverse city. We are an inclusive city. We are a city that says no to crimes like these.”

You can get in touch with us via Live Chat at www.west-midlands.police.uk 8am – midnight, or call 101 anytime. Alternatively you can use the hate-crime app or visit a third party reporting centre.

Galop is a national LGBT+ anti-abuse charity that supports people who have suffered homophobia, transphobia and other forms of abuse. You can find more about the support available here.

For more support, including information on how to report an incident if you have been the victim of a hate crime, click here.

If you don’t feel comfortable reporting this directly to us, you can report it to True Vision online.

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