What can be done to help disabled people to manage and
reduce their fears?
Make it easier for disabled people to report crimes by
making services more accessible. Under the provisions
of the DDA, this will become a legal requirement in October
2004. For more information on the requirements of the
Disability Discrimination Act, click on: www.disability.gov.uk/dda/
Work with local disabled organisations to build trust
and understanding. Contact your local offices of
SCOPE, MIND, Leonard Cheshire and offer to come and give a
talk on personal safety issues. Organise forums to find out
what’s concerning disabled people in the area. Appoint a
disability liaison officer to keep in regular contact and
provide disabled people and their representatives with a
single point of contact.
Offer more flexibility in reporting and preventing
crimes. Consider introducing third party reporting
centres or offering more home visits. If it’s difficult
for a disabled person to come to you to report a crime, go
to them. Be more understanding if someone can’t leave
their house because they are agoraphobic, or can’t easily
come to the police station. Help to organise self-defence
classes through local mental health projects or sheltered
housing projects.
Ensure that staff have the appropriate training. Some
staff members might feel awkward talking to people with
disabilities, which can translate in to a lack of
understanding and poor service. Ensure that they are given
the right training to handle disabled victims and witnesses
with appropriate sensitivity and understanding. Adequate
training is also necessary to properly deal with suspects
who may have mental health problems. (see case study)
Educate the community. If you are aware of a new
mental health facility opening up, work with your contacts
in the local media to prevent sensationalist reporting and
across the wider community to minimise any fears about it.
People with mental health problems are more dangerous to
themselves than to others, and the level of violence among
people discharged from psychiatric hospitals - with no
symptoms of substance abuse - are the same as for everyone
else. For more useful facts and figures, refer to the
publication by MIND called ‘Dangerousness: key facts’,
by George Stewart. Go to: www.mind.org.uk
Educate yourself. The concept of responding to the
needs of disabled victims – or even finding out what those
needs are – is still very new, and there is very little
information or research currently available. Commission a
local survey or piece of research to fill in some of the
gaps and get a better idea of where and how to target
resources.
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