The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) area of Wessex has the highest conviction rates in the country for hate crime prosecutions, with 90.1% of prosecuted cases in Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Dorset and Wiltshire resulting in a conviction.
Hate crime is when someone is targeted because of their actual or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability. It is a criminal offence and the law provides additional penalties for such crimes.
The area’s conviction rates have improved in all strands of hate crime in 2016-2017, demonstrating how seriously prosecutors take cases.
Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP said:
“One incident of hate crime is one too many and those responsible need to be brought to justice. I’d like to thank CPS Wessex for the fantastic job it’s doing to tackle hate crime in the region.
“Victims need to report these crimes and feel that they will be taken seriously if we are to stamp this out, so it’s encouraging to see the work happening to train prosecutors in case handling. This has no doubt contributed to improving the conviction rate and the CPS’ service to victims.”
The CPS rolled out a training programme to all prosecutors in 2016 on Disability Hate Crime that saw the conviction rate increased by 5.7%, to 86.4% for Disability Hate Crime cases prosecuted in Wessex. The area has plans to deliver new training packages in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity.
