Disability Hate Crimes have Risen a Quarter within the Past Year

Now that the anniversary of the death of Fiona Pilkington has risen, there is more talk about what we are going to do. A lot of times, people are thinking that these cases of disability hate crimes are being treated merely as isolated incidents of anti-social behavior in young people. Mrs. Pilkington and her daughter, Francecca Hardwick both had severe learning disabilities, and they both died five years ago when the mother set fire to the car after more than 30 of her calls to the police went unanswered.

One of the Independent Police Complaints Commission report was critical of the police for the way that they ultimately handled the case and the Home Office made the vow that an incident such as this would not happen again. Actions such as the Pilkerton’s had to endure are those that should not have continued once the police were called. Fewer than three percent of hate crimes are recorded or even recognized as hate crimes. They are not the only ones who have felt these hate crimes before. Michael Bailey who suffers from a muscle wasting disease has also been tormented for seven years by the local kids, abuse that continued on even after he had contacted the police. They set fire to his shed, spit on him, call him names such as ‘freak’ and demand money from him. He was afraid to even go to the local shop in town due to their cruelty. These are the crimes that have to be deterred from.