Police and council step up fight against disability hate crime

Disability hate crime takes many forms.

Police and council officers in Rochdale have joined forces to raise awareness of disability hate crime and make it easier for victims to report incidents by increasing the number of third party reporting centres across the borough.

The recent boost, to double the number of reporting centres from six to 12, comes after police statistics revealed that reports of disability hate crime are very low across the borough. There were just 15 reports between April 2013 and April 2014. And from April 2014 to April 2015 there were only 14 reports.

Jane Timson, Head of Safeguarding at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “Disability hate crime takes many forms. It can include physical assault, name calling or laughing at someone. We want people to know that we take all reports of hate crime very seriously and will always act on them.

"It’s simply not acceptable for anyone, particularly the most vulnerable people in our community, to be made to feel upset or uncomfortable while they’re going about their business.

"We’d also urge anyone who witnesses a disability hate crime to report it to us.”

The new reporting centres are based at locations across the borough, including the Deeplish Community Centre and Spotland Community Centre in Rochdale, the Riverside Housing Offices in Middleton and the Back O’th Moss Community Centre in Heywood.

They are designed to create a welcoming environment and are looked after by staff who are well known and liked in the community. They are also fully trained by the police, so they know how to help people who have experienced hate crime, including victims of disability hate crime, who might communicate in a different way and need extra support. As well as providing a listening ear, they can also report the crime on behalf of the victim.

Chief Inspector Chris Hill, from the Greater Manchester Police Rochdale Division, said: “While it’s encouraging that these figures are low, we want to make sure this is an accurate picture and not down to people feeling uncomfortable about reporting this issue.

"Third party reporting centres allow people to report hate crimes to the police in convenient locations with people they feel comfortable talking to.

"Hate crime is very serious and we want to make it as easy as possible for people to report it to us.”

A list of third party reporting centres across the borough, together with their opening times, can be found at: www.rbsab.org

People can also report disability hate crime by calling the police number 101, but should always dial 999 in an emergency.