Post-Brexit, Hate Crime is on the increase in the UK. According to the latest statistics made available by the National Police Chiefs Council, there has been a 20 percent increase in hate crime between mid-June and mid-July this year compared to the same period from last year.
Watch this clip in BSL, signed by Dean, below (or directly on Facebook by clicking here).
From across the UK, there were 6,293 hate crimes reported from mid-June to mid-July. In reality though, the Police will not have a completely accurate figure because many people don’t report incidents either due to being scared or feeling ashamed.
Many people also don’t know what constitutes a hate crime, and so merely brush the incidents off thinking there’s nothing they can do – when in fact there is.
Click here to view the video below directly on Facebook.
On the 21st of July, Channel 4 aired a program called “999 What’s Your Emergency”, which featured a Deaf chap called Stuart. Stuart had been targeted because of his deafness, and was harassed and victimised by neighbours over a period of time. In this day and age, what happened to him is unacceptable.
Three months after the initial incident which was filmed, he was moved and is now much happier – but he misses his friend. I believe that it’s not solving the problem; the perpetrators were not dealt with – it merely moved Stuart away from the problem. The problem still exists. The root issue is still there.
Thinking about it, I can’t help but wonder how it managed to get that far, and why the support mechanisms/safety nets that he had – had failed him so badly. The police in the clip mention Social Services – so he’s obviously in the system somewhere – why was it allowed to go on for so long? Why weren’t Police supporting him prior to this callout? Why was there no mediation?
Anyway, I downloaded the program and edited it so that it only featured him so that I could share it on Deaf Aware’s Facebook page – and in under 24 hours it received 23,000 views and reached 49,000 people. It got shared far and wide across the globe.
People raised various issues within the clip, including the Police’s use of out-dated and offensive terms (being Deaf and dumb and Deaf-Mute) – they also didn’t arrange for an interpreter to be present when they were questioning him, so quite rightly, Stuart was shaking and fearful (which he later talks about in the 1:1 interview with the TV reporters).
This shows that the Police have a lot of work to do, in order to interact with the d/Deaf community. Deaf Awareness needs to be raised as an issue that they need to work on urgently; not only BSL but general deaf awareness aswell. The d/Deaf community needs to feel confident that they will be able to interact with the Police services, and know that they are being given the information that they need – in a way that is suitable for the person being interviewed at the scene. A pen and paper will not suffice. For many, English may not be their first language, so writing something down does not mean it will be understood. It is also a very long-winded way of having a conversation.
What would be interesting to know, is if it was logged as a hate crime, and if not – why not?
Dean Kamitsis is a severely deaf web developer and lives in Preston. As a BSL user, he is passionate about equality, and believes in access for all deaf people; campaigning for both BSL access and the written word. Dean was proudly part of the Disabled Person’s Organisation, Disability Online (now closed), which won the Community Organisation Award at the National Diversity Awards in 2012.
Cathy
July 29, 2016
I watched this programme on TV with a friend. I was astonished when the Deaf man came into view: I have known Stuart for many years from Deaf clubs. He is the quietest man you will ever meet. It brought tears to my eyes to think those little kids had such “power” over an adult man, who was inevitably vulnerable.
Personally, for me, there is no such thing as “hate crime” just as there is no such thing as “love crime!” Nobody can prove “hate” or “love” in a court of law. These are emotional constructs and need to change.
Those children bullied Stuart, making up stories that were beyond the pale. Bullying crime should be the new criminal term as this is an act rather than an emotion and should have more impact on solving these type of crimes.
I was relieved that Stuart had been moved, but like the article says: the perpetrators had not been apprehended in any form. This is seriously wrong and if the Police are serious about stamping out such behaviour then they not only need Deaf Awareness but to change the ridiculous term of “hate crime” into a more substantial form that will give them more power to be effective in any community.
The changing of this term should give power to prosecute more. At the moment the words “hate crime” are so weak and ineffective that Police end up just giving out the same: weak and ineffective responses!
Hartmut
July 31, 2016
The police could at least organize a neighborhood meeting and give Deaf Awareness workshop with the aid of Deaf Club or Social Service who works with the Deaf.