Last Updated on October 11, 2016

Coinciding with hate crime week, the Home Office today has released statistics showing a 25% increase in disability hate crime.

2,508 disability hate crimes were recorded by the police last year, a 25% increase on the previous year. But the National Crime Survey estimates a true figure of 70,000 disability-related hate crimes. And for people with learning disabilities, this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg. Figures show that 88% of people with learning disabilities reported bullying and harassment in the preceding year (source: Mencap.). As a result, it is suggested that the 25% increase in reported disability hate crimes means more victims are coming forward.

Dimensions says that disability hate crime is under reported and under prosecuted. Hate crime robs people of their confidence, their independence and, sometimes, their lives. It is known that people with a learning disability feel that police officers often do not know how to communicate with them properly. Worryingly, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) investigated why cases involving learning disabled victims rarely get to court, finding that the reliability and credibility of the victim was often an issue.

Responding to the increase in reported disability hate crimes, Dimensions Chief Executive, Steve Scown said, 'All hate crime – whether on the grounds of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation – should be treated equally under the law. And we strongly encourage people with learning disabilities and autism, and those around them, to report hate crime to the police whenever and wherever it occurs.'

The statistics on hate crime are available on the Government website here.