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<p>We have a robust legislative framework to respond to hate crimes which target disability.
We expect the police to fully investigate these appalling offences and work with the
Crown Prosecution Service to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice.</p><p>The
Government is pleased to see the overall reduction in police-recorded hate crime in
the year ending March 2023, including a 1% reduction in disability hate crime compared
with the previous year. However, any instance is one too many and we remain absolutely
committed to ensuring these appalling offences are stamped out.</p><p>We do not have
a specific category of “appearance-related abuse” in the current legal framework,
however criminal offences can be prosecuted as hate crimes when immediately, before,
during or after the offence was committed the offender demonstrated hostility towards
the victim based upon the victim’s actual or perceived disability, or where the offence
was motivated by such hostility.</p><p>Our absolute priority is to get more police
onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice.
We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need. We delivered
our commitment to recruit an additional 20,000 officers by March 2023 and there are
now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, which is higher than the previous
peak in March 2010 before the Police Uplift Programme.</p>
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