Disability Hate Crime  

In this section you will find:

The Current Situation

What has to be done

Evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights

The Current Situation

A disability hate crime is a criminal offence motivated by hatred or prejudice towards a person because of their actual or perceived disability. It is also a criminal offence in which immediately before, after or during the offence the perpetrator demonstrates hostility towards a person because of their actual or perceived disability. (See s.146 Criminal Justice Act 2003)

Disability hate crime is a direct attack on a person's identity and an infringement of their human rights. It is pervasive and a regular feature of the lives of many people with disabilities. Research by Mencap (Living in Fear, 2000) found that nearly nine out of ten people with learning disabilities had been harassed or attacked within the last year, with 32% saying they experienced harassment or attacks on a daily or weekly basis. 23% had been assaulted. The cases of Steven Hoskin and Brent Martin show that at the extreme of disability hate crime, people are murdered because of their disabilities. Mr Hoskin's case and the case of Raymond Atherton also demonstrate that a series of minor disability hate crimes may dramatically escalate.

ACT fears that opportunities to address disability hate crime are being missed by criminal justice agencies. Only 68 cases of disability hate crime were prosecuted between April and September 2007. This figure represents progress but is still far below the rate of disability hate crime indicated by surveys of people with disabilities and direct experience. Our fear is that many disability hate crimes are not reported and, if they are reported, are not identified as hate crimes by criminal justice agencies. In addition, victims may not be receiving the assistance they need to give their best evidence, so reducing the chance of convictions. Home Office research has shown that the police only identify, at best, half of all vulnerable and intimidated witnesses (Home Office Online Report 01/06, 2006). It is also our experience that prosecutors are often reluctant to pursue cases involving victims with learning disabilities.

The public is largely ignorant about the existence of disability hate crime and little attempt is made to confront the public prejudice which feeds these crimes. The denouncements of disability hate crime which are made by policymakers have been too quiet and too rare to achieve change.

What has to be done:

Respond, Ann Craft Trust and Voice UK urges policymakers in England , Wales and Northern Ireland to:

Attack the prejudice that feeds disability hate crime

•  There must be a national public information campaign to (a) challenge prejudices about disabilities and (b) to inform the public about disability hate crime.
•  Police forces need to publicly state when a crime is being investigated as a disability hate crime.
•  Crown Prosecution Service prosecutors must remind judges to clearly state when s.146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 has been applied in a sentencing decision.
•  Each time the Crown Prosecution Service secures a conviction for a disability hate crime it should publicise this outcome and, as far as possible, provide details of the offence(s).

Train professionals and respond robustly to each incident

•  Police forces must provide training for frontline police officers on disability hate crime.
•  Police forces must provide training for frontline police officers on assisting vulnerable and intimidated witnesses. This must include information on identifying them, treating them with dignity, meeting their support needs and on the relevant provisions of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act.
•  Social workers must be trained on how to identify disability hate crime and help victims.
•  Every report of a disability hate crime must be taken seriously and be investigated with the aim of building strong prosecution cases.
•  In applying the Code for Crown Prosecutors' public interest test, the Crown Prosecution Service must be especially mindful of the negative consequences for society of not prosecuting cases of disability hate crime.

Work with people with disabilities and meet the needs of victims

•  Community safety partnerships need to work with NGOs and people with disabilities on local approaches to tackling disability hate crime.
•  As part of this, community safety partnerships should provide education to people with learning disabilities on (a) what a disability hate crime is and (b) how to report such crimes.
•  Community safety partnerships must also establish effective third party reporting mechanisms.
•  Primary care providers and social services departments need to provide appropriate therapeutic support for victims of disability hate crimes.

Provide more funding, more resources and more accountability

•  Police Authorities to ensure comprehensive, comparable figures on disability hate crimes are collected and published annually.
•  Community safety partnerships must assess their performance in responding to and monitoring disability hate crime as part of their equality impact schemes.
•  Central government to provide funding and resources to support all of these vital steps.

Evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights

We have given evidence on disability hate crime to the Joint Committee on Human Rights. Our original evidence can be read by clicking here and our supplemental evidence can be read by clicking here(our clarification of this evidence can be viewed here).

Contact details

For further information contact Robin Van den Hende on 020 7874 5486 or email: robin.vandenhende@respond.org.uk.