VICTIMS of racial incidents need to come forward more often if they are to be given the help they deserve.

That was the message from police this week after several high-profile crimes were reported in the Press.

Hate crime officer, Det Insp Jerry Reakes-Williams, says officers are doing all they can to solve reported crime, but that they cannot really tackle the problem of racism unless all of its victims come forward.

"I cannot stress enough how important it is to report every racial incident to us. And by incident I don't necessarily mean crime - it can include someone throwing something into your garden because of your nationality or religion," he said.

"People tend to think 'I won't report it because nothing will be done.' But if every racial incident is brought to our attention then we get a broader picture of exactly how big the problem is and where we need to target our resources.

"At the moment, we are looking at the incidents that have been reported and maybe focusing our attentions on the wrong areas because of lack of knowledge."

Det Insp Reakes-Williams spoke exclusively to the Evening News after the paper reported earlier this month how two Spanish students had been assaulted in the city centre because of their nationality, and how the 42 other students with them were being constantly harassed.

"Fortunately, cases like the attack on the Spanish students are rare and we would like to keep it that way," he added.

"And I can't say that Worcester has more or less of a problem than any other city of its size.

"But what we are trying to reassure victims is that if they do report a crime, we will do everything we can to help them.

"As hate crime officer I supervise every case that comes into the station. I send letters to every victim and if they have been targeted more than once I visit them personally to see what more we can do to help.

"After investigations are completed, I then review the case once again to check that nothing has been missed, and if no one has been caught, that there aren't any avenues which haven't been explored.

"I believe we have a very good system in place, we just need the trust of the people to do our job properly."