Only one in 100 hate crimes charged

FEWER than one in 100 alleged hate crimes investigated by the UK’S first dedicated police unit have resulted in a charge, as experts say the £1.7 million it cost would have been better spent fighting violent crime.

Just 17 cases, or 0.92 per cent of the 1,851 incidents logged by the online hate-crime hub, led to charges. Only seven resulted in a prosecution, meaning under one in 200 proceeded to court. Three were pending a charging decision by the CPS.

Susan Hall, a London Assembly member, described the hub, which was set to cost £1.7million over two years when it was launched by Sadiq Khan, the London Mayor, as “an exercise in spin over substance”.

“The money splurged on this project could have been used to invest in additional police officers and protect Londoners from a whole host of crimes, including hate crime,” said Ms Hall.

Hate crime offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales hit a record high last year, with 103,379 in 2018/19, up 10 per cent from the previous year and more than double the figure of 42,255 in 2012/13.

However, there have been complaints by officers that the focus on hate crimes has distracted forces from their “core” role of catching burglars and violent offenders.

Almost 150 people have been murdered this year in London, the highest number for more than a decade. Last year Sara Thornton, one of the country’s most senior officers, warned that forces were too stretched to tackle all “desirable and deserving” issues such as misogyny reports.

Five strands are monitored nationally: race or ethnicity, religion or beliefs, sexual orientation, disability and transgender identity.

But some forces log other hostile incidents under hate crime, including reports of misogyny, or where victims are targeted because of their age or membership of an “alternative subculture”, such as goths.

The Metropolitan Police’s hate crime hub – comprising five officers led by a detective inspector – was initially piloted for a year in 2017. A total of 1,851 online hate crime cases were logged up to August 2019, with 741 marked as still live or ongoing.

The low number of charges is thought to be due to the high charging threshold for online hate.

Not all incidents reported are crimes. There were 59 other positive results, which included cautions, harassment warnings and youth referrals.

A Met spokesman said: “Its role was to support officers across the service in dealing with online hate issues and specifically to provide ‘attribution’ so those posting hate could be identified.

“The hub’s role was not to investigate or bring prosecutions itself. The officers … have taken the valuable experience and expertise they gained from this pilot and embedded it into our working practices.”

A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “The mayor takes a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime … and the hub is supporting victims and helping us respond to the growing threat that … diverse and minority communities are facing.

“The Met has made huge progress in tackling all forms of hate crime but it’s clear more needs to be done.”