Success in Lancashire's battle against hate crime

Victims of hate crime in Lancashire are highly likely to see their perpetrator convicted if they pursue the case to court, figures have shown.
By The Newsroom
Published 14th Jul 2016, 15:10 BST
Updated 25th Aug 2016, 18:09 BST
Claire Lindley CPSClaire Lindley CPS
Claire Lindley CPS

In the past year, 88.7 per cent of prosecutions where the perpetrator is motivated by race, sexuality, age, or disability, resulted in convictions.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) pursued less prosecutions in 2015-16 than the previous year but in turn saw a bigger success rate in convictions.

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Claire Lindley, Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “Hate crime creates fear. It is an attack on the identity of the person who has been targeted and it has a devastating impact on people’s lives and on communities.

“I hope today’s report will give people confidence that when they report a hate crime it will be taken seriously. It also sends a warning to those who abuse or assault someone because of hate or prejudice: where we have evidence we will bring prosecutions.”

Hate crimes prosecutions totalled 363 compared to 483 the year before.

The majority were racial, in which 89.7 per cent of the 292 cases prosecuted were successful, compared to 86.2% of 399 cases dealt with last year.

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Homophobia related convictions increased to 80 per cent from 62.7 per cent - while convictions around disability increased from 74.2 per cent to 90.3 per cent.

And 83 per cent of older victims saw a successful conviction compared to 82.4 per cent previously.