Fewer hate crimes being taken to court

FEWER alleged hate crimes were prosecuted last year despite a spike in incidents around the EU referendum, figures reveal.

Some 1,000 fewer hate crimes went through the courts compared with the year before. That came despite an increase from 12,997 to 13,086 in incidents being referred by the police, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The majority of prosecutions were for racially or religiously aggravated offences, followed by homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, and disability crimes. A record number of cases experienced an “uplift” in sentencing following applications from prosecutors, resulting in a tougher punishment in 6,306 cases.

Across England and Wales there were 14,480 hate crime prosecutions in 2016-17 compared with 15,442 in the year before. Experts have not been able to identify a reason for the fall but said cases may still be ongoing.

A Home Office spokesman said: “All forms of hate crime are completely unacceptable. We are clear that the cowards who commit these hateful attacks should feel the full force of the law.”