Racially or Religiously Aggravated Offences

What offences can be racially or religiously aggravated?

Racially or religiously aggravated offences were created by sections 28 to 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

The following offences are covered:

racially or religiously aggravated wounding or infliction of bodily harm
racially or religiously aggravated assault occasioning actual bodily harm
racially or religiously aggravated common assault
racially or religiously aggravated criminal damage
racially or religiously aggravated intentional harassment, alarm or distress
racially or religiously aggravated harassment, alarm or distress.

All of these offences are defined by their original statutory definition.

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When is an offence racially or religiously aggravated?

An offence is racially or religiously aggravated if:

At the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender demonstrates towards the victim of the offence hostility based on the victim’s membership or presumed membership of a racial or religious group; or
The offence is motivated wholly or partly by hostility towards members of a racial or religious group based on their membership of that group.

So, if you were to state a racial slur or make reference to a person’s religion before, during or after the commission of one of the above offences you may be charged under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

It does not matter if the subject of the abuse does not find the abuse offensive. It also does not matter if the reason for the offence is racially or religiously motivated, if you use racist language when shouting at a security guard for removing a friend from an event, that will suffice a charge for a racially aggravated offence.

What can happen if I am charged and convicted with a racially or religiously aggravated offence?

If you are charged with a racially or religiously aggravated offence you could be tried in a court with higher sentencing powers. For example, if you are charged with racially or religiously aggravated common assault your case could be heard in the Crown Court or Magistrates’ Court as opposed to only the Magistrates’ Court for the offence of common assault.

If you are convicted of a racially or religiously aggravated offence you are likely to face a tougher sentence. For example, the maximum sentence for section 20 Grievous Bodily Harm is 5 years’ custody, whereas if it is racially or religiously aggravated you could get up to 7 years’ custody.

When sentencing for a racially or religiously aggravated offence the Judge must make it clear that they are increasing the sentence to account for the aggravating feature.

Can I be convicted for a racially or religiously aggravated offence if I am not charged with one?

Yes, you can. If you have a trial and elements of racism or anti-religious behaviour are found then that can be used as an aggravating feature in sentencing. (O’Leary [2015] EWCA Crim 1306)