This is a very interesting but disheartening article inDisability Scoopwritten by Michelle Diament about how federal statistics indicate that people with disabilities are far more likely to be victims of violent crime. The statistics and facts she gives are very interesting. It certainly makes one think.

Crime Odds Double For Those With Disabilities

By Michelle Diament

People with disabilities remain far more likely to be victims of violent crime, new federal statistics indicate.

There were 1.3 million nonfatal violent crimes committed against persons with disabilities in 2013, according to data released this month from the U.S. Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Overall, people with disabilities were more than twice as likely to experience violent crime as compared to the general population, the agency said.

Within this population, those with cognitive disabilities were the most likely to report being victims ofviolent crime and about half of victims had multiple conditions. The vast majority of crimes cited were related to simple assault followed by aggravated assault, robbery and rape or sexual assault.

The findings are based on data from the National Crime Victimization Survey, an annual survey of about 90,000 households asking about their experiences with crime whether reported or unreported to authorities.

Just under half of incidents involving people with disabilities were reported to police, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found. In other cases, those surveyed said they didnt seek law enforcement assistance because they dealt with the matter another way, believed the incident was not significant enough or thought police would not help, among other reasons.

Nearly a quarter of those with disabilities who were victimized indicated that they believed they were targeted due to their disability.

Source: http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2015/05/26/crime-odds-double/20329/