Fulham Man Posted Islamophobic Stickers in Lillie Park
Patrick Collier pleads guilty to charges of racial and religious harassment
A man from Fulham has pleaded guilty to charges of racial and religious harassment after being caught posting Islamophobic stickers in Lillie Park.
40-year-old Patrick Collier appeared at Hammersmith Magistrates' Court on 13 January. He received a 12-month Community Order and a 35-day Rehabilitation Activity Order.
Patrick Collier
On Sunday, 9 October 2016 officers on patrol in Lillie Park found the stickers on a notice board. Further enquires were carried out and a number of other stickers were located in and around the park. Between 18 October and 13 December 2016, 12 more incidents were reported to police and local authority, near Lillie Road Recreational Ground.
Collier was arrested and charged on 14 December 2016 with a religiously motivated offence under S31 Crime and Disorder Act 1988.
DS Sanj Bhanot from Hammersmith and Fulham Community Safety Unit said: "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.
"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.
"If you've been a victim of hate crime you can report it to police over the phone by calling 101 or if it's an emergency you should call 999.
The Metropolitan Police Service is seeking ways to increase reporting and work with a number of third party reporting sites, so that victims who would otherwise feel unable to approach police direct can report crime to non-police organisations and individuals such as TellMAMA for Islamophobic incidents and the Community Security Trust (CST) for anti-Semitic hate crime.
December 16, 2016