CPS Yorkshire and Humberside: hate crime sentence uplift examples, October 2022

Under the hate crime legislation, courts must treat offences more seriously where there is evidence that the offender demonstrated hostility on the basis of the victim’s actual or presumed race, religion, disability, transgender identity or sexual orientation, or the offence was motivated on the basis of hostility towards one of these characteristics.  Below are some examples of hate crime cases prosecuted by CPS Yorkshire and Humberside in October 2022 which resulted in a conviction and an uplifted sentence.

Racially aggravated cases:

1. The defendant caused damage to a car and was taken to hospital by police officers due to an injury. While at the hospital he used racially offensive language towards a member of staff. He also kicked and spat at the officers who arrested him. He pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court to using racially aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in public with the intent to cause someone present to fear the use of immediate unlawful violence, two charges of assaulting an emergency worker and criminal damage. He was sentenced to 16 weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from eight weeks for the racially motivated charge and 16 weeks’ imprisonment for the other offences. He was also in breach of a Community Order so was sentenced to an additional four weeks’ imprisonment with a total sentence of 20 weeks’ imprisonment. He was also ordered to pay £50 compensation to each of the police officers (Humberside case). 

2. The victim was working in a hospital when a telephone caller to one of the patients she was attending to used racially abusive language towards her. The defendant was found guilty after trial in the magistrates’ court to sending by public communication network an indecent or offensive message. He was sentenced to a 24-month Community Order, uplifted from 18 months. He was also given 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £150 compensation and £450 court costs (Humberside case).

3. The defendant entered a shop and attempted to take items without paying. He was racially abusive towards the security guard who stopped him and spat at him. He pleaded guilty before a trial at the Crown Court to racially aggravated common assault and breach of a restraining order imposed previously. He was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment for the assault, uplifted from four weeks, and nine weeks' imprisonment for breaching the Restraining Order. He also had a suspended prison sentence reactivated and has a total sentence of 59 weeks’ imprisonment (South Yorkshire case).

4. The defendant entered a shop on a number of occasions and used racially offensive language towards a member of staff. He pleaded guilty at the first hearing in the magistrates’ court to using racially aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in public with the intent to cause someone present to fear the use of immediate unlawful violence. He was sentenced to a Community Order of 18 months and an Alcohol Treatment Requirement of nine months. He was also given an uplift of 80 hours’ unpaid work and ordered to pay £85 court costs and £114 victim surcharge (South Yorkshire case).

5. The defendant made numerous telephone calls to an agency and used racially abusive and threatening language towards the employees. He also attended the office and continued the threats. He pleaded guilty before trial in the Crown Court to racially aggravated harassment, putting others in fear of violence and putting a person in fear of violence by harassment. He was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment, uplifted from 12 months (West Yorkshire case).

6. The defendant was living in sheltered accommodation and had a visitor to his room. When he was asked to remove the visitor he became racially abusive and threatening towards a staff member. The defendant was found guilty at a trial in his absence in the magistrates’ court. He was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from a Community Order (West Yorkshire case).

7. The defendant wrote racist graffiti on the communal areas of a flat complex, which caused distress to her neighbour. She pleaded guilty at the magistrates’ court to racially aggravated criminal damage, racially or religiously aggravated disorderly behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress and criminal damage. She was sentenced to a Community Order for 18 months, uplifted from 12 months, and given 15 Rehabilitative Activity Requirement days. She was also ordered to pay £250 compensation and given a Restraining Order not to contact the victim for two years (West Yorkshire case.) 

8. The victim was in the town centre when the defendant used racial abuse towards him. He pleaded guilty in the magistrates’ court to using racially aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in public with the intent to cause someone present to fear the use of immediate unlawful violence and possession of a bladed article. He was sentenced to four weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from three weeks, for the racial offence and eight weeks’ imprisonment for the bladed article. He was also sentenced for other offences and was sentenced to a total of 16 weeks’ imprisonment (West Yorkshire case).

Homophobic hate crime cases:

1. The defendant was abusive and threatening towards his neighbours and some of the abuse was homophobic. He pleaded guilty at the first hearing in the magistrates’ court to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in public with the intent to cause someone present to fear the use of immediate unlawful violence and threats to cause criminal damage. He was sentenced to a six-month Community Order with 10 Rehabilitative Activity Requirement days and was fined £432, uplifted from just a Community Order. He was also ordered to pay £173 victim surcharge and £85 court costs and was given a Restraining Order not to contact the victims for 12 months (Humberside case).