45% of disabled victims are dissatisfied with police response
The victims commissioner has created the largest study of its kind revealing high levels of dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system in England and Wales.
Police forces too often fail to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people – this is the general consensus that was discovered in the new report, which draws on the voices of 3,048 victims who reported crimes between 2020 and 2023.
From the pool of over 3,000 people, 45% of disabled people who reported a crime were unhappy with the polices’ response compared to 40% overall. In addition, disabled victims were less likely to want to report a crime to the police again. The report notes this could compound disadvantage as they are more likely to be victims of crime.
Amy (this isn’t the victims real name) is deaf, blind and autistic and has, on numerous instances, experienced abuse, intimidation and harassment from a group of men in her community.
She claimed that after reporting these crimes to the police she was left feeling even more vulnerable as officers struggled to understand her disability. She said the police seemed to assume ‘my disability makes me stupid’ and ‘I deserve to be treated in that way’. ‘They clearly thought I had nothing better to do because I was disabled but to target this poor innocent group of men,’ she continued.
‘When you can’t take yourself out of the situation, it’s stressful. It’s that feeling that the police wouldn’t protect you even if they broke in.’
Amy explained that despite reporting the crime, the police didn’t actively pursue leads and the investigation was dropped. In future, she said she would like to see forces better trained in disability awareness to ensure nothing like this ever happens to other disabled individuals.
Echoing a similar tone, the victims commissioner, Helen Newlove, is calling for disable victims to be guaranteed access to independent specialist advocates who will safeguard their rights.
Lady Newlove said: ‘Who you are should not and must not dictate the treatment you receive as a victim, nor your chances at justice. It is of great concern to me that certain victim groups face significant hurdles.’
The research from the victims commissioner is supported by a previous report from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which found the justice system didn’t always treat people with a disability fairly.
Other findings from the new report include:
- 73% of victims don’t feel confident that reporting a crime will lead to fair justice
- 38% of victims felt the justice system was fair
- 27% believe it to be effective
- 46% disagreed that they were kept well-informed about their case
- 30% of victims believed the police looked into cases thoroughly
- And 33% said it took too long for the cases to reach a trial
In the foreword to the report, Newlove warned that for too long the justice system is failing our population and more needs to be done.
She wrote: ‘Poor treatment leaves many victims feeling like an afterthought with long delays in the court system compounding frustrations further.’
With this in mind, she concludes the report be offering recommendations about how the system can be improved. These include:
- Improving communication between criminal justice agencies and victims
- Expanding he provision of support services for under-served groups, including anti-discriminatory practice training
Image: King’s Church International
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