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>
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, \u2018any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or any other person\u2019. Putting the victim\u2019s 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>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Vere of Norbiton"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-11-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "true", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/782453/answer/previousversion/22806", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4538", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Keen of Elie"} } , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-11-16T16:44:23.703Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ], "questionFirstMinisteriallyCorrected" : [{"_value" : "2017-11-20T11:19:23.603Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "88"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-11-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Hate Crime: Prosecutions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "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.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1807", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vinson"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Vinson"} ], "uin" : "HL2876"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/773042", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Attorney General"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/773042/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
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>
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>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4538", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Keen of Elie"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-11-01", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-11-01T16:07:00.19Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "88"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-10-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Hate Crime: Prosecutions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "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.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1807", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vinson"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Vinson"} ], "uin" : "HL2243"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/758412", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Attorney General"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/758412/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
In order for an offence to constitute a \u201chate crime\u201d, first a \u201cbasic\u201d 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>
Such offences could be designated as a \u201chate crime\u201d, if they meet the required criteria for the three strands of hate crime offences \u2013 (a) racially and religiously aggravated offences; (b) homophobic, transphobic and biphobic offences and (c) disability hate crime.<\/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>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4538", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Lord Keen of Elie"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-09-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-09-20T15:11:38.937Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "88"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Attorney General"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-09-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Hate Crime: Prosecutions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "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.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1807", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Vinson"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Vinson"} ], "uin" : "HL1416"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }