Stakeholder Position - Disability Rights Commission

The Disability Rights Commission (DRC) is undertaking a review of anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) given the emerging evidence of their misuse as a result of discrimination against disabled people. The DRC hopes that the Violent Crime Bill will not increase the potential for discrimination to occur through its introduction of Drunken Behaviour Orders (DBOs).

 

The DRC supports the introduction of measures to ensure communities feel secure and have the tools to penalise those people that threaten the safety and comfort of others. We are aware of the abuse and harassment that disabled people face on a daily basis and recognise that Behaviour Orders can be a means to protect some disabled people from abuse.

 

However we are concerned that there is a pattern of discrimination against disabled people emerging from the use of ASBOs that is an unintended consequence of their implementation. The DRC is aware of instances where disabled people have had ASBOs imposed upon them in extraordinary circumstances resulting from a lack of understanding or awareness of disabilities and their resultant behaviour. For example, a boy with autism was threatened with an ASBO for making ‘strange noises’ while playing on a trampoline in his garden. We believe discrimination of this nature needs to be addressed before other Behaviour Orders are encouraged or implemented further.

 

The DRC will be seeking to ensure that Drunken Behaviour Orders (DBOs) do not further discriminate against disabled people. Recently a British tourist in the US was arrested for ‘drunken behaviour’ that turned out to be a speech and mobility impairment (and not linked to alcohol misuse). We believe it is  highly important that authorities intending to impose DBOs recognise that some disabled people behave/speak differently and this can/has been mistaken for drunken behaviour. Adequate training for those issuing DBOs will be necessary.

 

The DRC believes that all Behaviour Orders (ASBOs and DBOs) need to be effectively monitored to reveal incidences of misuse against disabled people. We also believe that measures to address misuse are required to prevent the further discrimination of disabled people. We will be encouraging the Government to include these safeguards in the Violent Crime Bill.

 

For further information please contact Neil Coyle at the DRC on 020 7543 7038