Racism prosecutions still going up

Date article online: 21/02/2008

The number of people taken to court across Greater Manchester for alleged racist offences is continuing to rise.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service, 390 cases reached the courts last year, compared with 377 the previous year.

Nationally, cases increased by a quarter, with latest figures showing a hike from 6,123 to 7,694, the CPS racist and religious incident monitoring report showed.

The numbers of prosecutions has risen every year since the first annual report in 1999–2000.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken Macdonald QC, said: "We regard racist and religiously-aggravated crimes as particularly serious because victims are targeted solely because of their identity or beliefs. These crimes don’t just affect individual victims and their families but whole communities.

"The CPS is determined to take a robust view of these cases. Prosecutors are working closely with the police to make sure the strongest evidence is put before the courts to convict offenders."

According to the report, across the country the majority of offences prosecuted are racially-aggravated public order offences.

There were two cases of homicide. One offender was convicted after trial and one pleaded guilty. Both were sentenced to mandatory life imprisonment. And nationally 3,365 charges were dropped or otherwise discontinued before a court case could start.

A total of 29 religiously-aggravated charges went to court, against 22 defendants. The conviction rate in terms of the charges was 89.6 per cent, down from 98 per cent the previous year.