Dorset Police supports Mencap Campaign
Dorset Police, along with more than 30 other
police forces across the country, has signed up to Mencap’s ‘Stand
by me’ police promise to show their commitment to ending hate crime
against people with learning disabilities.
Mencap launched the ‘Stand by me’ campaign
during Learning Disability Week 2010. The campaign calls on police
services to commit to a promise that will help make sure people
with a learning disability can live their lives free from the fear
of crime.
Any crime where the victim, or any other
person, feels they are being targeted because of their disability
is a disability hate crime. Research shows that these crimes can
have a huge impact and often leave victims afraid to engage in
everyday activity.
‘Stand by me’ aims to engage the police, the
criminal justice system and the courts to end hate crime against
people with a learning disability within a generation. For more
information about the campaign go to www.mencap.org.uk/standbyme
As part of this campaign, Dorset Police has
committed to supporting a 10 point pledge. The points in the pledge
include:
- Make sure that information is available and
presented in a suitable form.
- Understand how to identify if someone has a
learning disability.
- Recognise that disability hate crime is as
harmful as other types of hate crime.
- Listen to, respect and involve families, carers and support
staff of disabled people.
To see all 10 points of the pledge, please
download the poster on the right of this page.
Detective Superintendent Gary Smith said:
“Dorset Police fully supports this campaign as part of our efforts
to reduce disability hate crime.
“We take all allegations of hate crime
extremely seriously and I would encourage anyone who believes
they’ve been a victim of this distressing crime to report it to the
police.
“Hate crimes can have a devastating impact on
victims and we are committed to bringing offenders of these
offences to justice.”
Reporting a Hate Crime
All hate crimes and incidents should be
reported. By reporting incidents, the police, local councils,
housing associations etc are able to build up patterns of behaviour
locally, and highlight areas of concern within your community.
But more importantly, you can get the support
you may need and help ensure that offenders are brought to justice
and cannot do the same to other people.
How to report Hate Incidents and Crimes
There are a number of ways to report Hate Incidents and
Crimes:
To Dorset
Police:
- In an emergency dial 999
- Dial 101 for non emergency matters
- Report online to Dorset Police
If your are deaf or have a speech impairment:
Third
Party Reporting Centres
Local agencies such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, Community
Voluntary Services etc can also report the incident on your behalf
and provide you with advice and support:
You can also report online at True Vision . The True
Vision website gives you information about hate crime and how to
report it.