Friday 28 Jun 2013 @ 10:30
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Hate Crime: The Case for Extending the Existing Offences

This project came to the Law Commission by a reference from the Ministry of Justice, following the Government’s publication of its three-year hate crime action plan in 2012.  Our terms of reference ask us to look into:
(a) extending the aggravated offences in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to include where hostility is demonstrated towards people on the grounds of disability, sexual orientation or gender identity;
(b) the case for extending the stirring up of hatred offences under the Public Order Act 1986 to include stirring up of hatred on the grounds of disability or gender identity.
As part of this work, we also examine the current sentencing regime applicable to cases where hostility is established, as this already applies to all five groups and involves similar elements to the aggravated offences (though it is applicable to a wider group of offences).  In this consultation, we analyse the case for reforming the existing offences to bring greater coherence and protection for all five groups.  We ask:

  • Do existing criminal offences provide adequate protection against the types of wrongdoing occurring against members of the protected groups?
  • Do the Courts’ existing sentencing powers provide a sufficient response in all cases?
  • Would extending the offences create uncertainty or have other unintended consequences?

Our consultation paper is supported by a number of appendices which contain material on ECHR issues arising, the history to the existing legislative provisions and an assessment of the impact of our provisional proposals for reform.
We are grateful to Dr John Stanton-Ife who has provided a paper on the theoretical arguments relevant to the extension of the existing offences.
The consultation period ends on 27 September 2013.  Responses to our proposals can be submitted using our form:

We plan to produce a report by spring 2014.
This consultation relates to our Hate Crime project.

Reference number: LCCP213

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