A leading charity is raising awareness of hate crime amongst young people and adults with learning disabilities, thanks to support from Sir Clive Loader.
With funding from the PCC, Mencap is delivering 10 workshops across Leicester during the next few months to help people with learning disabilities understand what hate crime is and how to report it.
The sessions focus particularly on disability related hate crime and ‘mate crime’, where vulnerable people are befriended for exploitation and abuse.
It is hoped that the workshops will encourage people with a learning disability to come forward and report any incidents.
Sally Jones, Information, Advice and Advocacy Manager at Royal Mencap Society, said:“56% of disabled people say that they have experienced hostility, aggression or violence from a stranger because of their condition or impairment. However, only 3% of hate crimes are recorded by police while only 1% resulted in prosecutions. This is not good enough.
“We are pleased to be working with the Sir Clive to provide workshops helping people with a learning disability to report a crime. But speaking out is just the start of the process, we also need everyone working within the criminal justice system to take disability hate crime seriously and apply the full strength of the law.”
Supporting victims of hate crime and hate related anti-social behaviour is a key priority for Sir Clive, as set out in his Police and Crime Plan.
Recently he attended one of the sessions, which was run at Leicester College with 10 students aged 18-25, to see the work first-hand.
He said: “I’m delighted to be supporting Mencap so that they can provide these valuable workshops to some of the vulnerable people in our society.
“It is important that people realise what hate crime is, particularly if they’ve been a victim before and not realised it, and also how to report it.
“I want to ensure that anyone affected has the confidence to come forward and is well supported throughout the process.”
As part of the workshop Ranjit Singh shared his experience of a ‘mate crime’ with the group.
Ranjit was befriended by someone nearly a year ago who then started coming round to his house and asking for money. Ranjit gave the person around £1,000 before realising that he had been a victim of a ‘mate crime’. He then reported it to the police.
“I really regret it. I wish I hadn’t done it,” said Ranjit.
“My advice is to say no to people who ask you for money and to make sure people around you are true friends.”
Posted on Monday 9th May 2016