EHRC publishes disability hate crime report

Mon,5 September 2016
News Equality & Rights

Equality and Human Rights Commission Research report on Crime and disabled people: Measures of disability-related harassment.

This report provides the latest data for England, Wales and Scotland against the following Manifesto for Change measures, with analysis of change over time:

  • number of victims of hate crimes
  • proportion of disability-related crime incidents reported to the police
  • satisfaction with police handling of crime incidents
  • experience of any crime in the previous 12 months
  • worry about being a victim of crime

View report

Summary of results

[Taken from the report]

The analysis reported here paints a general picture of improvements since the 2013 report.

The total incidence of hate crime in England and Wales has declined at a time when crime incidence has fallen overall. Numbers of incidents of age hate crime or sexual orientation hate crime both fell, however it is not possible to say whether there has been a decrease in disability hate crime over the same period.

Despite the decrease in the incidence of crime overall, in most cases experience of crime remained higher for disabled people compared with non-disabled people of the same age. For instance, 22% of disabled young people in England and Wales aged 10-15 had been the victim of crime in the previous 12 months compared to 12% of non-disabled young people of the same age.

In England and Wales, more disabled than non-disabled people in every age group had experienced any crime in the previous 12 months. Similarly, in Scotland more disabled people than non-disabled people aged 16-44 or 65-74 had experienced any crime in the previous 12 months. Experience of any crime was higher overall for disabled adults in the younger age groups.

Experience of any crime was also higher for disabled people with certain impairments in England and Wales, in particular people with mental health conditions such as depression or social or behavioural impairments such as autism, attention deficit disorder or Asperger’s syndrome.

Worry about being the victim of crime has declined for both disabled and non-disabled people. In England and Wales, worry about being a victim of crime was more common for disabled people than for non-disabled people in every age group. In Scotland, more young disabled people, aged 16-34, were worried about being a victim of crime than non-disabled people of the same age.

Reaction to the EHRC report

Stephen Brookes MBE, DR UK ambassador and Co-ordinator, Disability Hate Crime Network said:

“The EHRC report was based  on the National Crime Survey, but I question the relevance of it simply because of the EHRC failure to contact, include or consult with ULDPO's who see a very different situation of regional response. This would have made the report of far more relevance to what we need in terms of real action in creating consistency from all key stakeholders.

In our case in the North West, we have seen a massive increase in reporting, which now, for an example in just one centre, Disability Equality North West, runs at about 7 to 9 cases every month. and this has been consistent for over two years. It is also reflected in two other reporting centres across the county BUT, the success we have achieved is important to put into context as we have reached that important level of gaining confidence of disabled people in reporting what have been usually described as 'lower level' incidents. So for every month of reporting we see a reduced need for police action in terms of charging, as many incidents are picked up and acted on before they escalate to the higher level, which historically has been the case, and why the original barrier to reporting of the fear by the victim of the whole legal process was a serious problem.”

Katharine Quarmby, a coordinator of the Disability Hate Crime Network and author of the ground-breaking book Scapegoat: Why We Are Failing Disabled People, which investigates disability hate crime, welcomed the report.

She said: “I welcome the continued focus of the Equality and Human Rights Commission on disability hate crime, and this report in particular.

“I think the statistics from the Crime Survey showing a (self-reported) small fall in disability hate crime are interesting. They are in line with a general small fall in hate crime across England and Wales. 

“If the figures are correct, they may well bear testament to a number of policies finally bearing fruit: disabled people’s organisations campaigning for awareness of such crimes and for a ‘zero tolerance’ of hate crime, which is gaining traction in the wider population; the criminal justice system accepting that hate crime exists and that it is unacceptable; and, finally, British society turning its back to some extent on old attitudes of hatred and discrimination.

“This is not to say that the reports we are still receiving of disability hate crime (and of other hate crimes) are in any way to be disbelieved.

“We all know that the disability benefit rhetoric agenda has been toxic. But if the figures are true, then many British people are rising above it. This has to be a good thing.

“But while there are still disability hate crimes in Britain, and in the world, we still have work to do.”

An EHRC spokesman told Disability News Service yesterday (Wednesday): “We cannot say for certain but at the time that this report looked at, the total number of disability hate crimes may have dropped.

“If this is the case, it will be welcome news. All hate crime is abhorrent and even one case is one too many.”

[Source: John Pring at www.disabilitynewsservice.com]