REPRESENTATIVES of Preston's gay community met with council chiefs and police officers in a special forum dedicated to reducing homophobic attacks in the town.
The meeting on Friday (September 7) re-launched a scheme pioneered in Lancashire around five years ago, which saw the force working with the gay community to improve relations.
And a new method of reporting hate crimes anonymously to the police has seen the number of reported homophobic crimes increase.
Detective sergeant Dave Jacques of Preston police said: "We have changed the way people can report these crimes. Last year there were only around 20 reported in total. But so far this year we have had that many reported in just nine months."
The audience included members of the local Probation Service and Victim Support groups.
David Norman, of Preston police added: "This meeting is to learn about different organisations that exist, which the police could use to help in their work. Lesbian and gay people have a lot of suspicions of the police.
If a police car is seen outside a gay club the reaction is 'what's wrong'. Instead, people should feel reassured."
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