Hate crimes

• About hate crimes
• Recent developments
• Good practice
• Sources of help and support
• Evaluation and performance management

About hate crimes

Hate crimes are criminal offences committed because the perpetrator is driven by hatred of someone of a different race, ethnicity, nationality or colour, disability, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation or religion.

These crimes could be threats, physical attacks, or abuse and insults. Examples include damage to property, offensive graffiti, offensive publications or leaflets, bullying or intimidation.

Recent developments

The Racial and Religious Hatred Act came into effect in 2007, making it a criminal offence to use threatening words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up hatred against any group of people because of their religious beliefs or their lack of religious beliefs.

Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 – on the Office of Public Sector Information website

Good practice

Strategies

Many CDRPs and councils include hate crime within their CDRP strategies, although some have developed a stand-alone strategy specifically for hate crimes:

Bristol City Council has produced a race and hate crime strategy.

Race and hate crime strategy in Bristol – on the Bristol City Council website

The London Borough of Lambeth has produced a detailed hate crime strategy covering their aims and responses.

Hate crime in Lambeth – on the London Borough of Lambeth website

Websites

Examples of local authority website coverage of hate crimes are:

Hull City Council offers background information, explanations and links for victims of hate crimes.

Hate crime in Hull: information for victims – on the Hull City Council website

The London Borough of Lewisham displays information as well as an online reporting form for victims or witnesses of hate crimes.

Hate crime in Lewisham: reporting and help for victims – on the London Borough of Lewisham website.

Implementation

Harlow Council has a hate crimes panel which consists of representatives from agencies in the town such as the police, Harlow Council, Victim Support, Youth Offending Team and Essex County Council. It meets regularly to consider referred cases and coordinate the support of victims and preventative measures, as well as bringing offenders to justice.

Harlow Hate Crimes Panel – on the Harlow Council website.

South Lakeland District Council has established ‘third-party reporting sites’ in its Tourist Information Centres and reception points to enable the general public to report hate crime incidents anonymously and in confidence. The third-party reporting centres have been selected as safe, neutral places where people can report a hate crime as a victim, witness or third party without having to visit a police station.

Reporting hate crime in South Lakeland – on the South Lakeland District Council website

Many councils take a pro-active approach to minimising tensions to prevent hate crimes. The recent economic migrations from poorer parts of the EU to rural areas of the UK have provided a number of examples.

South Somerset District Council and Somerset County Council have taken steps to integrate migrant workers in their area.

Integrating migrant workers in South Somerset

Sources of help and support

Hate crime: overview – in our Partnerships and Places library

Hate crimes are closely linked to levels of community cohesion and it is worth checking the IDeA's community cohesion resource for more information.

Community cohesion

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has produced a number of publications about hate crime and how to prosecute it.

Disability hate crimes – on the CPS website

Homophobic crimes – on the CPS website

Racial and religious hate crimes – on the CPS website

Information on the six strands of equality can be found on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.

The six strands of equality – on the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.

True Vision is a police-funded project to enable online reporting of homophobic, transphobic, religious and racially motivated crimes, and will shortly include disability-related crimes.

True Vision

Recent law

The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 created a number of new racially and religiously aggravated offences.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998 – on the Office of Public Sector Information website

The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced tougher sentences for offences motivated by hatred of the victim’s sexual orientation (this must now be taken into account by the sentencing court as an aggravating factor, in addition to race or religious hate motivation).

Criminal Justice Act 2003 – on the Office of Public Sector Information website

The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 makes it a criminal offence to use threatening words or behaviour with the intention of stirring up hatred against any group of people because of their religious beliefs or their lack of religious beliefs.

Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 – on the Office of Public Sector Information website.

LGBT information

Galop is London’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community safety charity, aiming to change the way the police work with those communities and give advice and support to those affected by homophobic and transphobic violence or hate crime.

Galop

The lesbian and gay lobbying charity, Stonewall, covers hate crime in its information bank.

Hate crime – on the Stonewall website

Race information

The National Assembly Against Racism’s website contains much information about racist hate crime.

The National Assembly Against Racism

The legal section of Aston University’s website contains useful legal background information.

Legal information on race equality – on the Aston University website

Disability information

Respond have a section about disability on their website with background information and current legal information.

Respond

Action for Blind People offers information about disability hate crimes and details of a survey.

Hate crime and blind people – on the Action for Blind People website

Evaluation and performance management

Local area agreements (LAAs)

A number of local area agreements contain targets on hate crimes.

Northamptonshire LAA: There was an increase in the sanction detection rates of hate crime from 32.7 per cent in 2004/05 to 45 per cent in 2008/09.

Northamptonshire LAA 2009 (PDF, 7 pages, 27KB)

Devon LAA: Devon LAA recorded a reduction of the social, emotional and cost impact on victims and on the wider society by tackling the causes and ameliorating the effects of prejudice and hate crime (LAA35). These figures are based on the number of reports of hate crime and related incidents and are aiming at a 10 per cent reduction by 2010/11.

Devon LAA 2009 (PDF, 28 pages, 204KB)

Newcastle LAA: The council is aiming at improving the reporting for domestic abuse and hate crime.

Newcastle LAA 2009 (PDF, 8 pages, 128KB)

Public service agreements (PSAs)

PSA 21 targets racism and religiously motivated hate, while PSA 23 aims to reduce serious violence.

PSA 24 covers safer communities, and has sub-targets around the prosecution of race hate crime:

• percentage and number of unsuccessful outcomes in race hate crime cases due to victim and witness issues
• percentage and number of unsuccessful outcomes in race hate crime cases.

Public service agreements (PSAs) – on the HM Treasury website