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782453

registered interest
date	02/11/2017
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Hate Crime: Prosecutions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government under what authority the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has agreed a definition of racially and religiously aggravated crime that is wider than the legal definition under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Criminal Justice Act 2003, as indicated in the CPS Public statement on prosecuting racist and religious hate crime published in August.
tabling member printed	Lord Vinson
uin	HL2876
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2017 answer text <p>In order to charge and prosecute hate crimes, the CPS uses the legal definition provided by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and Criminal Justice Act 2003. The shared police and CPS definition of hate crime is based on the perception of the victim or any other person and allows for case flagging and monitoring as well as appropriate victim support, it does not affect the charge.</p><p>This flagging definition comes from the recommended definition in the Macpherson report which was published in 1999 as a result of the inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The Macpherson Report found a lack of confidence within communities that hate crime was being treated seriously by the police and Criminal Justice System and recommended that the definition of a racist incident should be, ‘any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person’. Putting the victim’s perception at the heart of the definition gives a clear signal that, once flagged as a hate crime, an appropriate investigation will follow and evidence to support the law on hostility will be proactively sought. The definition seeks to encourage victims to report and to increase confidence in the Criminal Justice System.</p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 16/11/2017 16:44:23 question first ministerially corrected 20/11/2017 11:19:23 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton previous answer version 22806 answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	1807 label Biography information for Lord Vinson

773042

registered interest
date	18/10/2017
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Hate Crime: Prosecutions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on freedom of speech of the definitions used by the Crown Prosecution Service to identify racist or religious incidents and crimes and to monitor the decisions and outcomes, as detailed in their Racist and Religious Hate Crime Prosecution Guidance.
tabling member printed	Lord Vinson
uin	HL2243
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/11/2017 answer text <p>The CPS legal guidance on prosecuting racist and religious hate crime recognises the potential impact of prosecutions on Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the right to freedom of expression). The guidance recognises that not only is speech which is well-received and popular protected, but also speech which is offensive, shocking or disturbing. It is essential in a free, democratic and tolerant society that people are able to exchange views, even when offence may be caused. However, when making prosecution decisions the CPS must balance the rights of an individual to freedom of speech and expression against the duty of the state to act proportionately in the interests of public safety, to prevent disorder and crime, and to protect the rights of others.</p><p>The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has agreed a shared definition of hate crime with the police in order to ensure that all relevant cases are captured as early possible. This definition is based upon the perception of the victim or any other person and is wider than the legal definition. However, in order for the CPS to bring a successful hate crime prosecution the CPS must present sufficient evidence to prove that the offence meets the definition of the crime set out in the relevant legislation.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 01/11/2017 16:07:00 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	1807 label Biography information for Lord Vinson

758412

registered interest
date	06/09/2017
answering body	Attorney General
answering dept id	88
answering dept short name	Attorney General
answering dept sort name	Attorney General
hansard heading	Hate Crime: Prosecutions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have issued any guidance to the Crown Prosecution Service concerning the extent to which insults constitute hate crimes.
tabling member printed	Lord Vinson
uin	HL1416
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/09/2017 answer text <p>In order for an offence to constitute a “hate crime”, first a “basic” crime has to be committed. There are a number of such possible offences which can be committed by way of an insult, particularly offences under the Public Order Act 1986, the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003.</p><p>Such offences could be designated as a “hate crime”, if they meet the required criteria for the three strands of hate crime offences – (a) racially and religiously aggravated offences; (b) homophobic, transphobic and biphobic offences and (c) disability hate crime.</p><p>The Government does not issue legal guidance to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is independent. The CPS hate crime guidance, which must be followed by all prosecutors, was reviewed and published in June 2017.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 20/09/2017 15:11:38 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	1807 label Biography information for Lord Vinson