
Racially aggravated offences
In recent years, legislation has been enacted to ensure that crimes demonstrating hostility towards certain groups of people are treated more seriously than before. If your offence is said to be racially aggravated, you should expect a heftier sentence.
What does it mean?
An offence is racially aggravated if, at the time of the offence, you demonstrate hostility towards the victim based on his/her membership of a racial group, or the offence is motivated by that hostility.
So, shouting racist abuse or making comments will make an offence racially aggravated, as will a situation where no comments are made but the offence is committed against someone because of their race.
Offences as a result of hostility toward a religious group, rather than racial, are treated in the same way.
The fact that the victim may be indifferent to any abuse is irrelevant to whether the offence is racially aggravated.
It is also irrelevant if the reason for the offence was unrelated to race: shouting abuse at a doorman because he wouldn’t let your friend into a club, for example.
How does it affect sentencing?
Each offence in law has a maximum sentence attached to it. For offences that are racially aggravated, that maximum sentence is increased. For example, the maximum sentence for common assault is six months imprisonment, but a racially aggravated offence increases to a maximum of 2 years. For actual bodily harm, the maximum sentence increases from 5 years to 7 years.
The starting point is to consider the sentence that would have been imposed for the offence if it was not racially aggravated, considering all other aggravating or mitigating factors. That sentence will then be increased to take account of the racial aggravation.
The extent of the increase in sentence will depend on the level of aggravation. The court will consider whether the offence was:
- planned;
- part of a pattern of offending;
- deliberately set up to be humiliating to the victim;
- committed in the victim’s home;
- repeated or prolonged.
Account will also be taken of any distress caused to other persons or the wider community and whether the offender was a member of a group that promotes hostility.
Does it have to be charged as being racially aggravated?
Even if the offence isn’t specifically charged as being racially aggravated, the circumstances can be treated as an aggravating feature in sentencing (O’Leary [2015] EWCA Crim 1306).
How can we help?
We can advise you whether your behaviour does come within the racially aggravated definition or not, consider the evidence for you and we can also advise you on the likely penalty. This article is intended as a brief overview. If you would like to discuss any aspect of your case, please contact John Howey on 020 7388 1658 or email jhowey@jfhlaw.co.uk.
Please note that the information contained in this article was correct at the time of writing. There may have been updates to the law since the article was written, which may affect the information and advice given therein.