Hate Crime – BILD’s response to the
cross government action plan
The Government has published an Action Plan for tackling hate crime.
Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, identifies in the foreword to the Action Plan that
“hate crime is a human rights issue, a threat to community cohesion and a rejection
of our shared values. Our society is strong when our communities are strong and
communities thrive when they are united by positive values they share. Values like
fairness, respect, democracy and the rule of law.”
Unfortunately, the need for this action plan has been reinforced by the sad and
totally unnecessary deaths of Fiona and Francesca Pilkington. Their daily
harassment was hate crime, and should not be viewed as simply the ordinary
problems of community living.
BILD supports the steps being taken by the Equality and Human Rights Commission
in seeking to find out from Hinckley and Bosworth Council whether they are
complaint with legal duty to eliminate disability related harassment.
However, it is a sad reality that Fiona and Francesca’s deaths may reinforce the
ongoing non-reporting of hate crime. Although the authorities and police were
consistently notified, it would appear that little or no action was taken to prevent the
harassment being experienced.
The importance of the delivery of the cross Government Action Plan cannot be
overemphasised. In addition, BILD would want to recognise the work of the National
Forum in consistently ensuring that addressing hate crime remains at the top of their
agenda.
The objectives of the Action Plan are:
1. To increase victim and community confidence in the criminal\justice
system
2. To prevent hate crimes from occurring or escalating in seriousness
3. To improve access to and take up of victim support
BILD welcomes the recognition that victims of hate crime have frequently been
poorly supported and that hate crime has traditionally been underreported and not
been given a priority by the criminal justice system and local agencies.
We are pleased to see that improved levels of reporting are to be encouraged by:
- Improving support to victims
- Empowering victims with accessible information and accessible means of
reporting
- Making clear that no hate incident or hate crime is not serious enough to
report
- Accepting that third party reporting for those who feel unable to approach the
police directly
- Empowering victims by providing accessible information on what constitutes a
hate crime and how to report it
- Building confidence in the criminal justice system by improving the service
that victims receive from it.
Fundamental to responding promptly and effectively to hate crime is making sure
that everyone has a greater awareness of what hate crime is and its impact. This
must include new approaches to:
- Prevention
- Education
- Reporting and recording
- Investigation
- Prosecution
BILD supports the following initiatives outlined in the Action Plan
- Providing local and front line agencies with guidance, tools and training that
deal with hate incidents and hate crimes that are re reported
- Exploring whether there can be a new duty on all public bodies to report hate
incidents to the local Crime and Reduction Partnership or the Community
Safety Partnership
- Improving the collection of data about hate crime
- Identifying best practice and sharing it
- Offering better support to hate crime victims
- A new Equality Duty created by the Equality Bill. This will require public
bodies to consider how they can take action to eliminate discrimination,
advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations. An important part of
this duty will be the prevention of hate crime and incidents that could escalate
into hate crime
The Action Plan recognises that the evidence base on the nature and extent of hate
crime is currently patchy. BILD welcomes the commitment in the Action Plan to
“continue to talk with and listen to victim and community groups so as to understand
the victim experience and benefit from qualitative information on the nature of hate
crime”.
Keith Smith, BILD Chief Executive summed up BILD’s response to the proposed
Action Plan:
“People with learning disabilities and autism are particularly vulnerable to hate crime.
Whilst welcoming the cross government action plan, we would welcome regular
reporting on its delivery. BILD is aware of good practice in many areas of the
country, particularly where local police forces have been working in partnership with
advocacy groups and benefiting from awareness training delivered by people with
learning disabilities. However, the good practice is patchy and has to be balanced
against the impact of hate crime on its victims, such as Fiona and Francesca
Pilkington.”
BILD would agree with Home Secretary Alan Johnson when he says in the foreword
to the report:
“We act to tackle hate crime because it is not the same as other crime. Hate crime is
a manifestation of, and a means of sustaining, discrimination against certain groups
in our society. Through fear, abuse and violence, hate crime limits people’s equality
of opportunity and infringes their basic human rights”.
November 2009