Two Big Wins in Fight to Protect People with Disabilities from Hate Crimes and Abuse

Greg deGiere_

Civil Rights Coordinator

People with disabilities are victimized by crime — often violent — at much higher rates than the general population.

Many of these crimes fit the legal definition of hate crimes, earning the perpetrator years extended in prison. But police rarely recognize these hate crimes. California’s official hate crime statistics show just two anti-disability crimes in the last year for which we have statistics, 2016.

Likewise, most of these crimes fit the legal definition of “dependent adults” abuse. But police — and mandated reporters — too often fail to recognize that people with disabilities are protected by these abuse laws, regardless of the fact that they live independently.

The Arc-UCP is sponsoring two bills this year to attack these problems. Both bills passed the Assembly 66-0 last week. They go next to the Senate Public Safety Committee, which is where any opposition would surface.

The bills are:

1. AB 1985 by Assemblymember Philip Ting, sponsored by The Arc-UCP and Equality California. (http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1985)

This bill will upgrade the formal policies that law enforcement agencies adopt to guide their offices on enforcing the hate crimes laws. Among many other points, the upgraded policies will include specific indicators of anti-disability hate crimes that officers should watch for, and they also will include steps to remedy under-reporting of anti-disability hate crimes.

1. AB 1934 by Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer, sponsored by The Arc-UCP. (http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1934)

This bill is intended to achieve two goals:

–       Educate police, mandated reporters, social workers, local long-term care ombudsmen, and people with disabilities and their families that people with disabilities are protected under the “dependent adult” abuse laws regardless of the fact that they live independently.

–       Build respect for people with disabilities and also elders by repealing the well-intended but demeaning language of the Penal Code that equates elders and “dependent adults” with children. It also will help de-stigmatize the demeaning legal term “dependent adult” by making it clear that these adukts can and often do live independently.

Greg deGiere

Civil Rights Advocate

The Arc California

Greg@TheArcC.org