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www.stopthehate.org.uk
www.stopthehate.org.uk
Hate crime and mental health
DC Phil MerriamEssex Police
What is hate crime?
Preju
dice-
based cr
ime
Ignorance
Stupidity
Harassment
BULLYINGAS
SAUL
Tdamage and graffiti
fear
hostility
Hate CrimeAny incident, whether a crime or not, which is perceived by anyone to be motivated by
hostility or prejudice based on a personal characteristic.
Personal Characteristics (Strands)
Race, Ethnicity, Country of OriginReligion, Belief or no Belief
Sexual OrientationDisability
Gender IdentityOther
Disability includes
Mental healthLearning disabilityPhysical disabilitySensory disabilityLife limiting illness
Under Reporting
2011 British Crime Survey – Hate Incidents Race 136000 identified 35875 recorded
26% Sexual Orientation 50000 identified 4477 recorded
9%Religion 39000 identified 1773 recorded 5%
Estimate - only 15% of Hate Incidents are reported to /
recorded by Police Services
Disability 65000 identified 2095 recorded 3% (40 in Essex)
Barriers to ReportingNon-recognition of Hate motivation
Cultural issues/pressureAshamed or Embarrassed
Sensitive and emotive subjectBelieve they are to blame
Will not be believed Not serious enough
Nothing will be doneLow chance of a positive outcome
Fear of reprisals
Not knowing how/where to reportHealth issues
Accessibility difficultiesTime/inconvenience
Mistrust of Police & other Services Negative experiences of reporting
Feeling Mistrust in authoritiesFear of court processNormalised to abuse
Sense of ‘that’s just how it is’Secondary Victimisation
The numbersHate Crime - all strands
2011 2012 2013
Hate Type Crime Non-Crime
Total Crime Non-Crime
Total 2011-12 % +/-
Crime Non-Crime
Total 2012-13 % +/-
Disability 27 13 40 61 25 86 115.0 62 49 111 29.1
Race 688 145 833 868 320 1188 42.6 794 395 1198 0.8
Religion 18 3 21 15 12 27 28.6 21 17 38 40.7
Sexual Orientation 79 21 100 121 44 165 65.0 102 53 155 6.5
Transgender 24 11 35 31 15 46 31.4 28 17 45 2.2
Other/Not recorded 44 4 48 63 8 71 47.9 103 40 143 101.4
All Hate Crime 880 197 1077 1159 424 1583 47.0 1110 567 1686 6.5
Types of incidentEssex Police - recorded disability hate incidents, 2013
Incidents DescriptorsNon-reportable hate incident
MH 9
Bullying / Antisocial behaviourLD 13Physical 21Sensory 2TOTAL 45
1st Harassment warning (not counted as crime)
MH 1
HarassmentLD 2Physical 1SensoryTOTAL 4
TOTAL Non -crime 49
Crimes MH 8 3x assault, 3x harassment, 2x damageLD 24 7x assault, 14x harassmentPhysical 28 2x assault, 21x harassmentSensory 2 1x harassment, 1x damageTOTAL Crime 62
TOTAL All incidents 111
Why Is Hate Crime Different To Other Crime?
Hate crime is about peoples personal characteristics that they cannot change, causing greater psychological harm.
Hate crime is about hostility & prejudice against whole groups of people, not just individuals.
Hate crime is often targeted at vulnerable members of society, who may have no voice.
Tackling hate crime
Tackling hate crime
• Hate Incident Reporting Centres (HIRCs)• Hate Crime Ambassadors• Strategic partnership (SHCPP)• Multi-agency work-plan• Stop the Hate campaign
Dc 1570 Phil Merriam, Essex Police Hate Crime Performance & Review Officer
01245 [email protected]
@stopthehate www.stopthehate.org.uk