Inclusion London recommends extending hate crime offences
Inclusion London responds to the Law Commission’s Hate Crime: the Case for Extending the Existing Offences consultation
Inclusion London agrees with the Law Commission’s proposal to extend ‘aggravated offences’ and ‘stirring up hatred offences’, so there is parity across all five main protected characteristics.
Only 7 out of 810 cases that were ‘flagged’ as disability hate crimes by the Crown Prosecution Service ended with magistrates or judges increasing the sentence.
Disabled people’s experience of reporting hate crime and going through the court process can compound the original abuse.
Inclusion London agrees with ‘Living in a Different World’, a report produced by the police, probation and Crown Prosecution Service which stated that:
“victims of disability hate crime are being let down by the criminal justice system, and progress to improve their experience of reporting offences has been too slow”.
Inclusion London recommends that disabled people’s experience of reporting disability hate crimes and the process of taking a case through the courts is improved, so that the extension of offences is effective.
Inclusion London’s full response to the Law Commission’s consultation on Hate Crime: the Case for Extending the Existing Offences is available below.