Publication date:
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has today published its annual statistical bulletin: ‘Cases Involving Hate Crime 2023/24’.
The bulletin captures data from the 2023/24 financial year and therefore does not include statistics relating to this summer’s public disorder.
The bulletin is set out in two parts, reflecting the two distinct definitions applied in cases involving hate crime, as recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the PPS.
In Part One key statistics are presented in relation to cases involving hate crime submitted to the PPS by the PSNI, while in Part Two key statistics are presented in relation to cases considered by a Prosecutor to have involved hate crime which was ‘aggravated by hostility’.
The key findings include:
Part One: Cases Involving Hate Crime Submitted by the PSNI
During the 2023/24 financial year, the PPS received 340 files involving hate crime. This was a decrease of 79 on 2022/23 (419).
Of the 340 files received in 2023/24, 127 (37.4%) related to racial crimes, with a further 88 files (25.9%) relating to sectarian crimes.
The majority of files received fell into the category ‘violence against the person’ (64.7%). The number of cases involving violent offences decreased by 20.6%, from 277 in 2022/23 to 220 in 2023/24.
Prosecutorial decisions were issued in respect of 486 persons, an increase of 2.7% on 2022/23 (473).
16 of the 18 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court were convicted of at least one offence, while the conviction rate in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts was 70.2%.
Part Two: Cases Considered by a PPS Prosecutor to have Involved Hate Crime which was ‘Aggravated by Hostility’
The PPS issued 281 prosecutorial decisions in 2023/24, nearly four-fifths (79%) were for prosecution (192) or diversion from the courts (30). This compared with the 296 prosecutorial decisions taken in 2022/23, of which 79.1% were for prosecution (202) or diversion from the courts (32).
The majority of the 281 decisions in 2023/24 related to offences which were either aggravated on the basis of race (136) or religion (97). 38 decisions related to offences aggravated on the basis of sexual orientation. The remaining decisions related to offences aggravated on the basis of disability or multiple motivations.
8 of the 14 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court in 2023/24 were convicted of at least one offence. Just over three-quarters (77.5%) of those dealt with in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts were convicted, more than in 2022/23 (72%).
Of the total of 149 defendants convicted during 2023/24, 44 were recorded as having received an enhanced sentence due to the aggravating feature of their offence(s).
The Bulletin can be found on the PPS website here.
Reflecting on the publication of the bulletin, the Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Herron said: “These are distressing cases in which victims suffer simply because of their race, religion, sexual orientation or disability. While this bulletin does not cover the period of the recent violent disorder, we saw over the summer the devastating effect that hate crime has not just on the lives of its victims, but also the wider community.
“We are fully committed to dealing effectively with these crimes, and the high conviction rates for hate crime and crimes aggravated by hostility evident in the bulletin bears this out. We are continuing to work closely with the police and other agencies to ensure that perpetrators of hate crime are held to account, where possible. All hate crime offences are prosecuted in line with our Hate Crime Policy.
“We can assure the public that where cases meet our Test for Prosecution, they are robustly prosecuted at their height using offences that provide the Courts with the ability to impose strong deterrent sentences on those who are convicted.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- In August, 2024 the PPS announced that a team of prosecutors had been formed to provide prosecutorial advice to police and to support them in building cases that can be directed upon and dealt with in the Courts as quickly as possible.
- This team, led by the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and supported by lawyers with relevant expertise, are working closely with police. Some full evidential files have been submitted for the PPS to direct on, and we expect more files to be submitted in the coming weeks.
- The PSNI is responsible for charging, and whilst the PPS reviews, the police are best placed to advise as to how many people they have charged in relation to hate related disorder over summer 2024. Contact details for the PSNI Strategic Communications and Engagement team by be found on the PSNI website.
- The statistical information provided in this bulletin includes caseloads, prosecutorial decisions and outcomes of prosecutions at court. Figures are provided for the full 2023/24 financial year (i.e. 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024), and include comparisons with the equivalent period in 2022/23.
- This summary should be read in conjunction with the explanatory notes and definitions provided.
- These are ‘Official Statistics’ as defined in Section 6 of the Statistics and Registration Services Act 2007. Statisticians from the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency are seconded to the PPS and are responsible for ensuring that the statistics produced comply with the Code of Practice for Official Statistics. All statistics for the current financial year have been finalised.
- The PPS Hate Crime Policy can be found here.
- Media Enquiries please contact the PPS Press Office on (028) 90 897187 or email ppspressoffice@ppsni.gsi.gov.uk