INCREASE IN
RACIST CRIMES HANDLED BY CPS
From the CPS website 15th
March 2003
The number of defendants dealt with by the Crown
Prosecution Service for racially motivated crimes rose by 20 percent last year
according to a report published today.
The figures are revealed in the CPS Racist Incident
Monitoring Scheme Annual Report 2001 ñ 2002 which collects data on all racist
incidents sent by the police to the CPS for prosecution. The latest increase
follows a 28.5 percent increase in the previous year.
The CPS brought cases against 2674 defendants, 373 more
than the previous reporting period and 72 percent of the total. 69 percent of
the charges resulted in guilty pleas and 14 percent in convictions after trial,
the overall conviction rate of 83 percent remaining the same as the year before.
Sir David Calvert-Smith, Director of Public Prosecutions
said: "In response to high profile campaigns urging victims of racist crime not
to suffer in silence and to report incidents, more victims now have the
confidence to come forward knowing that police and CPS take these offences
seriously.
"I am encouraged that the conviction rate remains high at
83%, and that by working closely with police to build strong cases we are
securing a large number of guilty pleas at court.
"But there is still a lot more work for us to do to support
victims as their cases progress through the criminal justice system, and to
reduce the number of charges which are dropped or discontinued, particularly
where witnesses fail to attend or refuse to give evidence.
"We are currently engaged in a consultation programme with
community groups and representative organisations to find out their views about
how we deal with racially and religiously aggravated crimes and how we can
support and communicate with victims and witnesses better. We are committed to
working with minority communities to continue to build trust and confidence."
Other findings in the report include:
 |
In cases where charges were dropped, 43% were dropped
because of insufficient evidence, 25% because of difficulties with witnesses
and 15% were not pursued on public interest grounds, the most common reason
being that the defendant was being dealt with on more serious offences or was
serving a long prison sentence. |
|
62% of prosecutions were dealt with in the Magistrates
Court, 1% fewer than last year set against a 1% increase in the number of
charges handled by the Crown Court. The Youth Court load remained unchanged. |
|
58% of prosecutions were charged for racially aggravated
offences introduced in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the majority being
racially aggravated public order offences. |
|
89% of the cases in the report were identified as racist
incidents by police and the remaining 11% by CPS when the file was received.
|
For the purposes of the report, the police and CPS have
used the definition provided in the Macpherson report which states that 'a
racist incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other
person'.
Section 28 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 defined an
offence as racially aggravated if the offender demonstrates racial hostility
towards the victim at the time of, or before or after, committing an offence;
or is motivated wholly or partly by hostility towards members of a racial
group. It created specific offences of racially aggravated assault, criminal
damage, public order and harassment. Additionally, section 153 of the Powers
of Criminal courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (replacing section 82 of the 1998
Act) imposes a duty on sentencing courts to treat evidence of racial
aggravation as an aggravating feature, increasing the seriousness of the
offence and the sentence to be imposed, in cases where offences are not
specifically charged under the 1998 Act.
The
Racial
Incident Monitoring Scheme Annual Report is available on this website.
For further information contact CPS Press Office on 0207
710 6091.
