95% conviction rate for racist crime prosecutions

06/04/2004

Out of a total of 40 charges of racist crime prosecuted in Northamptonshire last year, 38 resulted in convictions.

Published today, the CPS Racist Incident Monitoring Scheme Annual Report 2002 2003 contains data on all racist incidents sent by the police to the CPS for prosecution.

CPS Northamptonshire brought racially aggravated cases against 34 defendants, 13 less than 2001-2002. 83 per cent of the charges resulted in guilty pleas and 13 per cent in convictions after contest (trial). The overall conviction rate of 95 per cent compares to a national average of 85 per cent.

Chief Crown Prosecutor Colin Chapman said: "I am encouraged that the conviction rate in Northamptonshire remains high at 95 per cent, but these are the cases which reach the CPS.

"Racially and religiously motivated offences are based on prejudice, discrimination and hate and go against a persons right to feel safe and secure, yet such incidents are often underreported.

"We are determined to do our best, with the help of the police and other organisations, to support victims of racially and religiously motivated offences in Northamptonshire.

"We have also committed significant extra resources as part of the Pre-Charge Advice Scheme to help build stronger cases at the earliest stage, in partnership with the police. Lawyers are working with police investigators countywide to ensure the charge is right from the outset and all available evidence supports the charge."

Another finding of the report was that in racially aggravated cases where charges were dropped, 29 per cent were dropped because of insufficient evidence and 6 per cent were not pursued on public interest grounds.

Nationally, the number of defendants dealt with by the CPS for racially motivated crimes rose by 12.4 per cent last year. Racially aggravated cases were brought against 3116 defendants, 442 more than 2001-2002. 69 per cent of the charges resulted in guilty pleas and 15 per cent in convictions after contest. The overall conviction rate of 85 per cent is up slightly on 2001-2002.

Ken Macdonald QC, Director of Public Prosecutions said: "The CPS takes all these offences particularly seriously because they are motivated by discrimination and hate and represent an assault upon our diverse society. We shall continue to give them the highest priority."

Since this last reporting period, the CPS has launched a public policy statement on racist and religious crime.