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Lord Rix asks what steps the police and other agencies are taking to respond more effectively to disability hate crime.
The recent Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) report into the deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francceca in 2007, after years of abuse, serves as a recent reminder of failings by the police and other agencies to effectively tackle disability hate crime. Fiona's plight and others, such as the death of David Askew in 2010, also highlight the devastating impact of anti-social behaviour on disabled people, including people with a learning disability. They illustrate how more must be done to overcome these types of crime and prevent these incidents escalating into more serious crimes of violence and abuse.
Last week, the charity Mencap, of which I am president, launched a three year campaign called 'Stand By Me' that will challenge the police, the criminal justice system and the courts to take a lead in ending hate crime against people with a learning disability within a generation. Mencap's earlier report 'Don't Stand By Me' illustrates that, although there are some examples of good practice within police forces, there is a general lack of understanding and coherent policy regarding learning disability hate crime. A group of people with a learning disability who contributed to 'Don't Stand By Me' reported that the police often did not take their complaints seriously.
An Ipsos MORI survey carried out for Mencap, highlights that the public is aware and concerned about hate crime against disabled people. Half (48 per cent) of the public believe that people with disabilities are more likely to be targets of abusive comments or aggressive behaviour than other people. Further, more than three quarters (79 per cent) consider aggressive behaviour, such as pushing or hitting directed at someone with a disability, as a hate crime.
The combined evidence of poor practice and public concern demonstrates that more must be done to prevent disability hate crime. It is vital that we ensure that current policy is clearly understood and acted upon by police forces, ensuring that violence, aggression and utterly unfounded hatred towards some of the most vulnerable members of our society is treated with all seriousness and acted upon immediately. For this reason I will be asking my question in the House of Lords today.
Lord Rixhas served as president of Mencap since 1998. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Rix, of Whitehall in the City of Westminster and of Hornsea in Yorkshire in 1992, and is currently chair of the learning disability all-party parliamentary group
Article Comments
I am disabled because of a terminal neurological illness. To date I have never experienced any hatred directed at me. In fact I have received much help from young people in getting out of my wheelchair, negotiating pavements etc. I had a three minute response from the police when someone rang them to say I had fallen out of my wheelchair which had become entrapped under the front of a lorry. The young people witnessing this stayed until the police arrived as they were witnesses. They checked that I could swallow and opened a can of coke as I was distressed by dehydration. Please nobody get me wrong. I am not saying that people do not have these terrifying experiences but are there particular geographic regions where it is more prominent. I have been helped by young people who were living in a terribly disadvantaged area. We must not forget that many disabled people, particularly the blind, will respond with aggression if offered help in say getting on or off a bus. Again I reiterate I am not saying these incidents with disabled people don't happen, I only ask for deeper information on geographical area, did the disabled person cause the aggressive behaviour by their own ungrateful behaviour. I am not saying that I could not be a victim but I would ask for this serious situation to be looked at in greater depth. All youngsters are not bad and treat the disabled badly, not all police forces respond badly to complaints. We have a dribbling of information, please let us have some details, in great depth. Only that way can we isolate these incidents and deal in a cohesive manner with them. If you are disabled, please do not be afraid to walk past groups of young people. They are more likely to help rather than injure or insult you. The mentally handicapped face different fences. It is all too easy to be reminded of ones own lack of self esteem by watching the sometimes bizarre appearance and behavior of some mentally handicapped people. When I worked as a psychiatrist I was very aware of this awful situation.
Gerald Phillips
27th Jun 2011 at 7:41 pm
Voice UK is pleased to say that many police forces are working very hard to support victims with learning disabilities and others who are targeted because of their disability or mental ill health. There have been some very positive steps taken. ACPO is also committed to improving awareness of and services delivered to victims of hate crime. Sadly these positive approaches have not yet been adopted by all forces or by all officers. We are looking forward to working with Mencap and other partners to continue to improve access to justice.
Kathryn Stone OBE, chief executive, Voice UK
27th Jun 2011 at 1:58 pm
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