A MAN has been convicted of a racially and religiously aggravated public order offence after Islamophbic stickers were found around a London park and recreation centre.
Patrick Collier, aged 40 from Fulham in south west London, pleaded guilty to intentionally causing racially and religiously aggravated harassment, alarm and distress when he appeared at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court on January 13.
He received a 12-month community order and a 35-day rehabilitation activity order.
Last October 9 officers on patrol in Lillie Park in Fulham found stickers of an Islamophobic nature stuck to a notice board.
Further enquires were carried out and a number of other stickers were located in and around the park.
Between October 18 and December 13, 12 similar incidents were reported to police and the local authority, near Lillie Road Recreational Ground.
Collier was arrested and charged on December 14 with a religiously motivated offence under Section 31 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1988.
DS Sanj Bhanot from Hammersmith and Fulham Community Safety Unit condemned hate crime as unacceptble.
"Hate crime is unacceptable and any offence is of great concern. The Community Safety Unit, led by DI James Shirley, conducted a lengthy investigation which resulted in criminal convictions," DS Bhanot said.
"This investigation was a great display of joint partnership working, involving the Community Safety Unit, Fulham Safer Neighbourhood Team, Parks Police and Fulham Council who collectively applied both covert and overt methods, which resulted in Patrick Collier being arrested and convicted for these offences," he added.
The Met said that it is committed to tackling hate crime in all its forms, and recognises the often hidden nature of this crime, which remains largely under reported.
Victims who would otherwise feel unable to approach police directly can report crime to non-police organisations and individuals such as TellMAMA for Islamaphobic incidents and the Community Security Trust (CST) for anti-Semitic hate crime.
Hate crimes can also be reported to police over the phone by calling 101, or in the case of an emergency call 999.
