Northern Ireland police approach to learning disability praised

Wednesday 20 February 2013

The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s approach to learning disability has been praised in a new report

The Northern Ireland Policing Board published its Human Rights Annual Report 2012 on 8 February at a launch event in Belfast (pictured). The report assesses how the Police Service of Northern Ireland has met its human rights responsibilities over the past year.

The report praises the positive work that is being done around learning disability and hate crime by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and references their involvement with Mencap’s Stand by me hate crime awareness campaign.

The report notes that recommendations on learning disability made in the 2011 Human Rights Report have been met. These were:

• Recommendation 10 on learning disability training for police officers and
• Recommendation 12 on the reporting of hate crime statistics in relation to those who have a learning disability

It also acknowledged Mencap’s work with the Policing Board and Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland on their joint 2011 report, Views and Experiences of People with a Learning Disability in Relation to Policing Arrangements in Northern Ireland.

Mencap campaigns officer Jenny Ruddy, who attended the report’s launch event in Belfast, said:

"I welcome the focus given to learning disability within this important report.

"I also welcome the fact that the Police Service of Northern Ireland has been actively working to meet the recommendations from last year's report, including learning disability awareness training of police officers and hate crime reporting."

Read the Northern Ireland Policing Board's Human Rights Annual Report 2012

Find out more about Mencap's Stand by me campaign against hate crime