A NEW police initiative to encourage Muslims to report "Islamophobia" race hate crime is set to be launched across Lancashire.

The self-reporting scheme - titled 'Islamophobia - Don't Suffer In Silence' - will be introduced, with the support of the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Muslim Safety Forum, throughout the county later this month.

The constabulary is one of only four UK police forces - including Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire and London - who are tackling the, largely unreported, incidences of hate crime against the Muslim community.

Thousands of leaflets and reporting forms will be distributed to mosques and police stations detailing how to report incidents.

Third-party confidential reporting boxes will also be distributed to various Muslim and local authority venues.

Lancashire Constabulary Deputy Chief Constable Steve Finnigan said: "We have developed a third-party reporting scheme which we hope members of our Muslim communities will find useful.

"It is intended to help them report crimes with confidence.

"We know that many people who are victims do not report the matter.

"It is vitally important that we capture what is happening so that we can respond more effectively.

"This scheme aims to form the basis of what we hope will be a positive relationship between the police and Muslim communities that helps reduce crime and improve their quality of life.

"We know that hate crime has a greater impact on victims than any other type of crime and already operate a range of schemes for third party reporting.

"All of these have been successful, particularly the work we have done in helping victims of domestic violence.

"But this is the first that is specifically for a faith group."