Oz Muslims urged to report hate crimes under 'special disaster plan'

Muslims in the Australian state of Victoria are being encouraged to report hate crimes or anti-Muslim incidents under a special disaster plan to deal with the fallout from terrorist attacks.

Under the Muslim Emergency Management Plan, which is backed by the state and federal governments, Victorians will be given advice on how to react to such incidents, even if they are considered minor.

Muslim victims of abuse are encouraged to save evidence, take photos and report any incident to police and their local mosque or Islamic organization, the Herald Sun reports.

In another initiative, Victoria Police is introducing new strategy to deal with violence and threats motivated by prejudice.

The move comes in the wake of growing concern over inter-racial tensions in Melbourne's suburbs and against the backdrop of fears of further terrorist attacks that could strain relations further.

According to the report, Police has been asked to develop databases on crime motivated by race or religion, so that offenders can be prosecuted.

Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria director Ross Barnett said the new police initiative was needed.

He said judges had the power to take into account hate-related issues in sentencing, but police were not equipped to provide the evidence.

"The elements of the strategy include training for officers, capacity to start collecting data so they've got a sense of what is happening, how often it happens, and what the extent of it is," Barnett added. (ANI)