It has now become far easier for Deaf people in Essex to report hate crimes, with the news that the charity RAD has officially launched a Hate Incident Reporting Centre.
The news was announced when the District Commander of Essex Police, Chief Inspector Richard Phillibrown and DC Phil Merriam – Hate Crime & Vulnerable Adults – Performance Review Officer visited the head office of Royal Association for Deaf people (RAD) to award a certificate endorsing the organisation’s status as a Hate Incident Reporting Centre (HIRC).
When a Deaf person is a victim of hate crime, they may struggle to communicate the incident to Police, as highlighted by the case study below:
‘Claire* is Deaf and owns a hearing dog for Deaf people. When her new neighbour complained to the council about her dog barking, she was asked to keep it under control. Claire didn’t believe that it was her dog making the noise. After explaining her situation in sign language to an advisor at RAD, she was able to prove that her dog wasn’t even in when the barking was heard and the council threw out the case.
Afterwards, Claire was horrified when her neighbour began to pile rubbish in front of her door. RAD arranged several meetings with the police and council which resulted in her neighbour being rehoused.’
*name has been changed
Whilst the situation was very distressing for Claire, she was able to turn to RAD for advice and support.
Now all Deaf people living in Essex will have access to the service to report their experience of hate crime in sign language to RAD. Staff fluent in British Sign Language have received specialist training in crime reporting to ensure the very best support, advice and outcome can be achieved.
To report a hate crime/incident to RAD:
Telephone: 0845 688 2525
SMS: 0774 996 5727 or
email HIRC@royaldeaf.org.uk
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m
October 29, 2014
That is empowering. .shame the Council cant do the task under their so called safeguarding system. One questioned why……
The Last Hiccup
October 29, 2014
As an author of Deaf Hate Crime (DHC) in America, Deaf prisoners come from many angles–from the standpoints of economics, politics, history, ideology, and many disciplines, and the laundry list can be breed misery among Deaf people for generations to come.