Rise in prosecutions for racist and religious crime

Tuesday, 18 January 2005 4:00 AM

Last year there was a 13 per cent rise in the number of cases of racially motivated crime referred to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Of the religiously aggravated cases recorded, half of all victims were, or were perceived to be, Muslim.

A new report out on Tuesday finds that between April 2003 and the end of March 2004 the CPS dealt with 4728 defendants.

Of the cases referred to the CPS, 76 per cent (3616) were prosecuted - an increase of two per cent. The conviction rate of those prosecuted stood at 86 per cent, one per cent up from the previous year.

Of those cases dropped, insufficient evidence was cited in 45 per cent of cases, and difficulties with witnesses in 26 per cent of cases. A further 15 per cent were not pursued on public interest grounds - for example when a defendant was already being dealt with on a more serious offence.

Director of Public Prosecutions, Ken Macdonald QC, said he was "reassured" that the conviction rate for racially aggravated offences remained high - but accepted that more work needed to be done.

Noting that "witness difficulties" accounted for 26 per cent of dropped charges, he said: "We have high hopes that the witness care units, which are being rolled out to all 42 criminal justice areas in England and Wales, will provide more dedicated care to witnesses to help them attend court for all types of case."

The report also included figures for religiously aggravated crimes (a provision introduced in 2001) - 44 of which were prosecuted.

In 22 of the cases the actual or perceived religion of the victim was Muslim. The next largest group was Christian on eight, with Jewish on five.

Seamus Taylor, CPS director of equality and diversity, commented: "Whilst there are comparatively few religiously aggravated cases, these are still early days for this new offence. What is significant is that 50 per cent of the 44 victims' perceived or actual religion was Muslim.

"To build awareness that we will prosecute this type of hate crime rigorously, we will build on our current work and deepen our engagement with all faith communities over the next year. This will include engaging with the Muslim community, which should contribute to raising awareness and building confidence in this area."

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