CPS North East - Hate Crime Sentence Uplifts - May 2023

Under hate crime legislation the courts must pass increased sentences where prosecutors show evidence that offences either demonstrate or have been motivated by hostility towards a person’s race, religion, disability, transgender identity or sexuality. Below are examples of hate crime cases recently prosecuted by CPS North East, each of which resulted in a conviction and an uplifted sentence.

Case Study 1: Racist Hate Crime

The defendant was charged with racially aggravated harassment of his neighbours who were Polish. The defendant, had it not been for the racially aggravate element, would have been sentenced to a community order but this was uplifted to three months custody suspended for 12 months to reflect the racist hate crime. The defendant was also ordered to pay compensation to the two victims.

Case Study 2: Racist Hate Crime

The defendant was found guilty after trial of racially aggravated assault on a trading standards officer. The defendant received an 18-week custodial sentence, uplifted from twelve weeks due to the racial element. This was suspended for 18 months. The defendant was also ordered to completed 25 rehabilitation activity days and 150 hours of unpaid community work during this 18-month period. In addition, the defendant was ordered to pay the victim compensation £250 and court costs of £600.

Case Study 3: Homophobic Hate Crime

The defendant was charged with assaulting his ex-girlfriend’s current partner and also charged with harassment of his ex-girlfriend which included making homophobic comments towards her. The defendant entered a guilty plea and received an 18-month community order and ordered to pay compensation to both victims. The court confirmed during sentencing that had it not been for the homophobic comments, the community would have been for twelve months but, due to the hate crime element, this was increased by six months to a total of eighteen months.