The States police say they deal with an average of just two incidents of crime fuelled by prejudice against people with disabilities a year.
But Chief Inspector Alison Fossey says the force believe, like all hate crime, offences against the disabled community are vastly under-reported.
The government yesterday launched a consultation on a new law that could give the police and prosecutors greater powers to tackle hate crime. The consultation on the Crime (Prejudice and Public Disorder) Law is due be open until the start of December.
Angela Goddard, chairman of The Inclusion Project, said hate crime against disabled people existed in Jersey. She described one case where abuse of a disabled person had snowballed from verbal insults to the offenders bashing on the window of the victim’s home.
She said that one of the major barriers to disabled people accessing help was the confidence to speak out and the knowledge of whom to talk to.
‘For someone who is disabled or who has learning difficulties, they don’t know if a person they tell about a hate crime is going to understand them. It can be quite frightening if you’re not understood or you see someone in uniform – the person could think they will end up in trouble themselves,’ she said.
The States police have joined forces with StopHateUK – a UK-based charity that provides 24-hour independent advice, guidance and support to the victims of hate crime and concerned third parties. The charity has infrastructure – including text relay for people who are deaf or have a speech or hearing impairment – to help them access assistance.
Since June, five referrals have been made to the States police after Islanders contacted the UK charity. Chief Insp Fossey said the force needed to make the public more aware of the charity.
‘Yes, it’s a UK number and service but it has direct links to Jersey,’ she added.
Chris Frost, rehabilitation officer for sight impairment charity EYECAN, said he had known visually impaired Islanders to be verbally abused and labelled ‘frauds’ by people who did not fully understand their condition.
He said some Islanders might walk with a stick but be seen scanning their mobile phone, which, in some cases, had opened them up to abuse.
Speaking about the proposed law changes, Chief Insp Fossey added: ‘We take reported hate crime extremely seriously but it’s no secret that we have to work hard to use existing laws, such as telecommunications law, to prosecute hate crime offenders.
‘We’re strongly encouraging Islanders to get involved in the consultation so that a law can be brought in that is fit for purpose, appropriate for Jersey and provides victims with the clear protections in law that they deserve. I hope that, in turn, this will provide victims with greater confidence to report.’
The Hate Doesn’t Belong Here campaign launched by the States police earlier this year used images and stories of prominent members from the Island’s Jewish, LGBT and minority ethnic communities to support it.
A hate crime is defined as an offence fueled by prejudices against someone’s race, religion, sexuality, transgender identity or disability.
To contact StopHateUK visit stophateuk.org or call 08001 381625.
