CPS Yorkshire and Humberside: Hate crime sentence uplift examples, September 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 August 2022 which resulted in a conviction and an uplifted sentence.
Racially aggravated cases:
1. The defendant was banned from entering a store and stood outside the shop shouting racial abuse and threats at the owner, which was repeated on a number of occasions. He pleaded guilty prior to the trial 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 12-month Community Order with 15 Rehabilitative Activity Requirement days, uplifted from 10 days. He was given a Restraining Order for three years and was ordered to pay £85 court costs and £95 victim surcharge (Humberside case.)
2. The defendant went into a takeaway and was behaving aggressively, when asked to leave by an employee she was racially abusive towards him. She 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 and possession of a Class B drug. She was sentenced to a six-month Community Order, uplifted from a fine and ordered to pay £100 compensation (North Yorkshire case.)
3. The defendant was being treated in hospital and was aggressive towards staff. A Security Guard attended, and he used racially abusive language towards him, when officers arrested the man he spat at them and continued to be abusive. He pleaded guilty prior to the trial in the Crown 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 assaulting an emergency worker. He was sentenced to 14 weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from 12 weeks for the racial offense and 18 weeks’ imprisonment for assaulting an emergency worker and will serve a total of 32 weeks’ imprisonment (South Yorkshire case.)
4. The defendant was seen throwing paint over the victim’s door and when challenged she was racially abusive towards the victim. She assaulted him with a broom handle and threw paint at his car, which missed and hit a neighbour’s car. She pleaded guilty on the day of the trial in the Magistrates’ Court to racially aggravated common assault and racially aggravated criminal damage. She was sentenced to eight weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from six weeks, ordered to pay £350 compensation and £150 compensation to the neighbour and given a Restraining Order against both victims for three years (South Yorkshire case.)
5. The defendant attended hospital and was racially abusive towards some of the staff, she was taken to the police station and assaulted a police officer and was racially abusive towards another member of staff. She pleaded guilty at the first hearing in the Magistrates Court to two charges of 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 two charges of assaulting an emergency worker. She was sentenced to 16 weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from 12 weeks and a previous suspended sentence was activated so she will serve a total of 34 weeks’ imprisonment (West Yorkshire case.)
6. The defendant was asked to leave a supermarket and became racially abusive and threatening towards two members of staff and threatened to spit in their faces. He pleaded guilty in the Magistrates Court to using racially aggravated threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour in public which may result in someone present fearing the use of immediate unlawful violence and racially aggravated common assault. He was sentenced to 18 weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from 12 weeks and a previous Community Order was revoked and he will serve a term of nine weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from six weeks as this was also a racially aggravated offence. He will serve a total of 27 weeks’ imprisonment, ordered to pay £156 victim surcharge and excluded from the supermarket for a period of 12 months (West Yorkshire case.)
Homophobic hate crime cases:
1. The victims and the defendant are neighbours and on numerous occasions the defendant has used homophobic and threatening language towards them. The defendant pleaded guilty on the day of the trial in the Crown Court to acting in breach of a restraining order and was sentenced to 13 months and 2 weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from nine months and two weeks (West Yorkshire case.)
2. The defendant and the victim are neighbours and the defendant made numerous threats towards the victim and used homophobic language towards him. The defendant pleaded guilty prior to the trial in the Magistrates’ Court to harassment with fear of violence and was sentenced to 36 weeks’ imprisonment, uplifted from 24 weeks. He was also made the subject of a Restraining Order not to contact the victims and ordered to pay £187 victim surcharge (West Yorkshire case.)