CPS Wessex: Successful Hate Crime Cases January/February 2024

Prosecutors from CPS Wessex routinely secure successful outcomes in a variety of hate crime cases across the magistrates’ and Crown Courts in Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Wiltshire.

Under hate crime legislation, courts must pass an increased sentence where the prosecutor has evidenced that criminal offences either demonstrate, or have been motivated by, hostility towards a person’s race, religion, disability, transgender identity, or sexuality.

This is known as a “sentence uplift”.

We’ve picked out a selection of the hate crime cases we’ve prosecuted recently to demonstrate how seriously we take such cases, ensuring that perpetrators are brought to justice and receive increased penalties.

In most hate crime cases prosecuted by CPS Wessex, defendants enter guilty pleas. This means that the case didn’t have to go to trial and victims and witnesses did not need to attend court to give evidence.

All defendants in our case studies below received an increased sentence to reflect the seriousness of the hate crime they had committed.

Case Studies

At Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court this month, a man pleaded guilty to two racially aggravated public order offences, having shouted racist words at a police officer. He was fined £80 for the first incident and ordered to pay £75 in compensation to the officer. He was fined a further £40 for the second public order offence and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £48. The court increased the sentence from a conditional discharge to a fine to reflect the fact that it was a hate crime.

In a case prosecuted at Southampton Magistrates’ Court, a man pleaded guilty to two public order offences by shouting homophobic words at the victim, who was working in a supermarket at the time. The court sentenced the male to a conditional discharge which would have been for six months, but they increased to nine months, to reflect the fact homophobic language was used against the victim.

In another case, Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard how during an incident in a local hotel, a man caused damage to hotel property and shouted racist words at a hotel guest. At court, he pleaded guilty to criminal damage and a racially aggravated public order offence. He was sentenced to six weeks in custody, which the court said would have been four weeks, but was increased due to the racist language he used. He was also ordered to pay the victim £100 compensation and a victim surcharge of £54.

At Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court, a man pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and racially abusing another as he was arrested for separate matter. The court ordered the male to pay £50 compensation to the officer who was assaulted and gave a custodial sentence of three weeks for the racially aggravated abuse of the second officer. The court stated the custodial sentence would have been had it not been for the severity of the hate crime. He was also ordered to pay the second victim £100 in compensation.

At Southampton Magistrates’ Court last month, a male was fined £120, having pleaded guilty to racially abusing a police officer. The court increased the total amount of his fine to reflect the racist language used and ordered the male to pay £50 in compensation to the victim, £40 court costs and £48 victim surcharge.

In a similar case, a male homophobically abused a police officer as he was being arrested and pleaded guilty to the public order offence at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court. On sentencing the male, the court said they would have fined him £40 for the public order offence but doubled the fine to £80 to reflect the homophobic language. He was ordered to pay £85 court costs and £32 victim surcharge.

In a case at Swindon Magistrates’ Court, a man was prosecuted for theft and a malicious communications act offence, when he had sent a homophobic text message to the victim. At court, the male pleaded guilty to both offences and was fined £40 for the theft and ordered to pay £40 compensation. He was fined £140 for sending the homophobic text message; the court said they would have fined the defendant £80 but increased the fine to reflect the fact it was a hate crime.

In another case heard at Swindon Magistrates’ Court, one man admitted that he had punched and racially abused a shop worker. The court would have fined the man £200 but increased it to £300 to reflect that the assault was a hate crime and that racist language had been used towards the victim. The man was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120 and £85 court costs.

At Swindon Magistrates’ Court, a woman pleaded guilty to a racially aggravated public order offence, having racially abused a member of staff working in Swindon custody suite. She was ordered to pay £250 in compensation which the court said would have been lower, but for the fact she had committed a hate crime against the victim.

In a case recently tried at Poole Magistrates’ Court, a man pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment, where he admitted to harassing his neighbour, and this harassment included racially abusing the victim. The court sentenced him to a 12-month community order with 120 days of alcohol monitoring which had to be completed. He was fined £100 for the racist language that was used towards the victim, which the court increased from £75. He was also ordered to pay £115 victim surcharge and a restraining order was put in place preventing contact with the victim for 12 months.

In another case heard at Poole Magistrates’ Court, a man pleaded guilty to two charges of assault and public order, having assaulted the first victim, and racially abused the second. Both victims were working in a shop at the time of the incident. The court ordered him to complete a 12-month community order, along with an order to pay £150 compensation to the first victim. The court ordered the male to pay the second victim £200 compensation, which they increased from £150. A restraining order was also put in place for two years, preventing further contact with both victims.