§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the level of hate crime directed at people with learning disabilities; what plans he has to tackle hate crime directed at people with learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [99542]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Government are committed to tackling all hate crime regardless of what form it takes.
The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) working with the Government has developed guidance for police forces in dealing with these types of crime. This guidance is entitled "Identifying and Combating Hate Crime" and was last updated in April 2002.
While there is no specific national requirement for the recording of hate crimes against those with disabilities they are covered by the ACPO Guidelines.
In November 2002 the Metropolitan police relaunched their Hate Crime publicity campaign to clearly include hate crime targeted at people with disabilities. They have since made it policy for their Community Safety Units, who record incidents of hate crime, to flag up hate crime against people with disabilities. At this stage the definition of 'disability' refers to all forms whether physical or mental.