VICTIMS of homophobic and racially motivated crimes will find it easier to report incidents to police after the launch of a scheme today.

Durham Police is one of more than 30 forces across the country to sign up to the True Vision initiative.

The police-led project will enable people to report hate crimes via the Internet, at www.report-it.org.uk, or by filling in a self-reporting pack.

The True Vision scheme will mean victims, who may not want to go to police, will be able to talk in confidence to a trained report-taker from their community and get advice on what to do next.

Organisations taking part in the 12-month pilot scheme are the Gay Advice Darlington (GAD) group, the local Racial Equality Council, the Durham Young Gay Men's Group, and Durham University's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Committee.

Self-reporting packs will be distributed in the coming months at locations such as bars and clubs that are popular with the LGBT communities.

PC Chris Watkins, who is involved in the scheme, said: "We know for a fact that hate-crime in County Durham and Darlington is seriously under-reported. Because of this, we are anxious to build a true picture of the scale of the problem. The True Vision scheme is about building confidence and encouraging people to report anything that happens to them, whether it is a physical assault, verbal abuse or damage to property."

Emma Roebuck, a criminal justice worker with GAD, said: "The scheme puts hate-crime higher on the agenda than it has been before. It needs to be reported, and we need to provide reassurance that from now on, this will not be tolerated."

In the past 12 months, 370 hate crimes have been reported to Durham Police.

The force has one full-time officer, PC Gail Conroy, and three part-time officers dealing with hate crimes. PC Conroy can be contacted on 0845 606 0365 ext 670 2511.