A POLICE officer who runs a support group for the transgender community has been awarded more than £5,000 to help fund hate crime ambassadors.

Roger Hirst, Essex’s police and crime commissioner, granted Sgt Gina Denham and the Transpire support network £5,800 towards helping tackle hate crime.

The money will support the training of up to 20 new ambassadors - who will raise awareness of what hate crime is and encourage victims to report incidents to the police or partner agencies across Essex.

Ms Denham, who was born male and decided to live life as a woman in November 2014, hopes that Essex Police will be able to understand the problem of hate crime and respond accordingly if more incidents are reported.

Ms Denham, who works with the community policing team in Castle Point and Rochford, said: “Some people still do feel that there is a lack of ways to report hate crime and a lack of understanding about what hate crime actually is.

“Another barrier to reporting is the stigma around it and the trust in the police for them to follow it up and investigate it.

“The role of the ambassadors is to signpost people towards how they can report it.

“The benefits are that if people have the confidence to report it, it will help Essex Police work more efficiently.

“I think this money will make a real difference.

“Transpire members went to Chelmsford and met with Roger Hirst and Jane Gardner, deputy police and crime commissioner, plus two trainers from Essex Police who will be delivering hate crime ambassador training for us.

“We’re committed to tackling isolation and vulnerability caused by incidents of hate.”

Ms Denham herself said that she regrets not reporting an incident of hate that she experienced personally, after a motorist shouted expletives at her and described her as a “transvestite” during a dispute over right-of-way.

She said: “I shrugged my shoulders and went to work. It didn’t occur to me that although that might not have amounted to a crime, it did amount to a hate incident and I should have reported it.

“That person needs to get his behaviour addressed.”

For advice on hate crime and how to report it, visit essex.police.uk/advice/hate-crime.