Race hate crime prosecutions in Derbyshire remain static

18/01/2005

Derbyshire's Chief Crown Prosecutor, Brian Gunn, today urged victims of racially motivated crime to come forward and report any offences committed against them.

His comments follow the publication of figures which show that the number of defendants dealt with by Derbyshire Crown Prosecution Service for racially aggravated offences during 2003/04 remains virtually unchanged from the previous year. 

Between April 2003 and March 2004 40 defendants in Derbyshire were charged with a total of 59 offences.  The majority of charges prosecuted were for racially aggravated public order offences and racially aggravated assaults.  The conviction rate for racially motivated offences was 88% - 3% above the national average. 

Mr Gunn said: "Prosecuting racist crime remains one of our key priorities and we are committed to dealing effectively and fairly with all cases referred to us by the police.  Whilst the conviction rate in Derbyshire remains high, there will still be cases we don't get to hear about.  It's absolutely vital that anyone from Derbyshire's Black and ethnic minority communities who has experienced any form of racist crime comes forward and reports it.   Only then can we take steps to prosecute the perpetrators of this form of hate crime.

"We are currently undertaking a number of measures that we hope will encourage more people to report racially motivated crime and increase the number of successful prosecutions.

"CPS lawyers are now working alongside police in the county's police stations, taking responsibility for making charging decisions and becoming involved in cases at an earlier stage.  This helps to quickly identify those cases that should be prosecuted as racially or religiously aggravated offences, and enables prosecutors to give early advice to police on the evidence required to support those charges and to prepare a strong prosecution case. 

"About a quarter of racist crime prosecutions are dropped because of witness difficulties.  During the next few months Derbyshire CPS and the police will roll out the No Witness, No Justice initiative; this will involve the establishment of three witness care units across the county providing dedicated and improved support for witnesses and victims.  Staff in these units will address the particular needs and concerns of victims in racist cases and give them the support they need to seek justice through the courts.

"Derbyshire CPS will continue to work closely with our partners in the criminal justice system to ensure all sections of the community have the confidence to report hate crimes against them, knowing they will be fully supported during any criminal proceedings."