Mencap blasts police for failing victims of disability hate crime

This article is published in today's Nottingham Post:

Mencap blasts police for failing victims of disability hate crime

A report which draws upon evidence submitted by Notts police and 13 other forces has concluded that officers are not doing enough to tackle disability hate crime.

The report published today by learning disability charity Mencap, entitled Don't Stand By, also draws on public opinion and suggests there is a general lack of police understanding of disability hate crime or a strategy to tackle it.

It cites the tragic deaths of Fiona Pilkington and Francecca Hardwick of Leicestershire in 2007 and David Askew of Greater Manchester in 2010 as two examples where low-level harassment ignored by police escalated into sustained abuse with fatal consequences.

Notts police have acknowledged the report's findings and today backed a new three-year campaign by Mencap against disability hate crime.

A police spokesman said: "We will be fully supporting the campaign, fully recognising that there are vulnerable people in the community who are victims of hate crime and that these incidents are not often reported to the police.

"We recognise this is not always easy for people so we have developed an easy-read leaflet and plan to work closely with our partners to ensure officers engage better with learning-disabled people.

"We also plan to work closely with partners including Mencap by reviewing hate incidents regularly together. We are providing our officers with more information and awareness about disability hate crime and we will continue to work hard to reassure victims that we take them seriously."

The Mencap report canvassed the opinion of a group of people with learning difficulties who had experienced a hate crime.

They reported that police officers were often rude and dismissive when they came to report hate crimes.

The report concluded that: "All participating police services claimed that the level of reported disability hate crime is much lower than that of actual disability hate crime, which is worrying as it means that police services cannot make properly informed decisions about effective resourcing."

Mencap chief executive, Mark Goldring, said: "It is estimated that as many as nine out of ten people with a learning disability are verbally harassed or exposed to violence.

"Today's report proves that police have not got to grips with disability hate crime, let alone crime against people with a learning disability. Early intervention is vital if people with disabilities are not to live in fear."

The launch of Mencap's three-year campaign against hate crime coincides with Learning Disability Week which started today.