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Shaping Cleveland’s Disability Hate Crime Strategy

Community event promoting Cleveland Police & Crime Plan 2024–2029 highlighting priorities such as improving safety and tackling Cleveland Disability Hate Crime, with Difference Members standing beside awareness banner and with PCC Matt Storey

Article Summary

On 15th September, Difference North East joined Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey at a Hate Crime workshop. Claire spoke about Disability Hate Crime. She said many crimes are not reported, and we need better awareness, education, and training. Deaf and Disabled people must be involved from the start in planning safer communities.

Cleveland Disability Hate Crime: Shaping Cleveland’s Disability Hate Crime Strategy

Centering Disabled voices in building safer communities

At the Strategic Hate Crime Workshop: Cleveland Disability Hate Crime

On Monday 15th September, Difference North East attended the Cleveland Strategic Hate Crime workshop alongside Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey to talk about Disability Hate Crime in Cleveland.
Cleveland Disability Hate Crime: Claire from Difference North East standing with Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey at the Strategic Hate Crime Workshop, beside a banner showing Cleveland Police and Crime Plan 2024–2029

Claire with Cleveland PCC Matt Storey at the Strategic Hate Crime Workshop, 15th September 2025.

“At the event I highlighted the current low reporting rates for disability hate crime nationally and advocated for different ways in which we can improve awareness of hate crime and local reporting via education and training. Deaf and Disabled voices must be centred in local hate crime strategies by embedding coproduction early. The ‘Top Tips for police forces’, from the co-produced disability hate crime toolkit, has been shared with local hate crime leads.” – Claire, Difference North East
Ahead of the event, a full Disability Hate Crime briefing was shared with Cleveland Police. This includes recommendations for awareness, reporting, training, and representation.

Why Disability Hate Crime Must Be Taken Seriously

14,285 Disability hate crimes recorded in 2022/23 (England & Wales)
Disabled children are twice as likely to experience crime compared to non-disabled children. Disabled adults also face higher victimisation rates.
Online abuse is rising: 29% of Disabled people have experienced bullying or trolling, and over half report seeing negative comments about disability on social media.

Barriers to Reporting

  • Unclear understanding of what counts as hate crime.
  • Inaccessible reporting systems (digital and in-person).
  • Normalisation of disability hate crime as “trolling.”
  • Systemic disablism in policing responses.

Cleveland Disability Hate Crime: Recommendations Shared with Cleveland Police

  • Equal protection in law for disability hate crime, alongside race and religion.
  • Accessible campaigns in BSL, easy read, captioned video, and audio described formats.
  • Co-production with local Disabled people at all stages.
  • Advisory boards led by Disabled people to guide policing approaches.
  • Regular disability equality and hate crime training, led by DDPOs and lived experience experts.

Next Steps

The work from this workshop will contribute directly to Cleveland’s new Hate Crime Strategy, launching later this year. It’s vital that Disabled people’s lived experiences are embedded from the start so that reporting is accessible, victims are supported, and hate crime is never dismissed as “trolling.” Read More on LinkedIn Learn About Difference NE

Take Action

We need Disabled people and allies to help drive change. Here’s how you can get involved: Join as a Member Become an Ally Share Your Experiences
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