Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many crimes were reported on the True Vision website in the last 12 months.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The department does not hold data on the number of crimes reported on the True Vision website.
The reports made to True Vision are sent directly to relevant police forces, as identified by the complainant and reports deemed as hate crimes are included in the force specific hate crime data.
Oct. 05 2023
Source Page: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2022 to 2023Found: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2022 to 2023
Asked by: Lord Lucas (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Crown Prosecution Service’s assertion that there is a “Global narrative attacking the rights of all protected characteristics” as stated in its Pride Month Hate Crime Roundtable report of 23 June, published on the Crown Prosecution Service website.
Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton - Advocate General for Scotland
The article in the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) community newsletter published in June 2023 relates to a Pride month hate crime roundtable event. The roundtable was a local community engagement event held with members of the LGBT community affected by homophobic and transphobic hate crime. The quote represents reportage of discussion amongst external attendees at the event and was not intended to reflect organisational views of the CPS.
Oct. 05 2023
Source Page: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2022 to 2023Found: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2022 to 2023
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2023 to Question 5245 on Hate crime: research, if he will publish the final reports of the research projects commissioned from (a) IPSOS UK and (b) RAND Europe.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We are considering options to publish the final reports of the commissioned research projects in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of conditional cautions in relation to hate crime.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
National guidance issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions for Adult Conditional Cautions states that they are not considered suitable for offences involving hate crime. However, there are rare cases when, because of the nature of the crime or the circumstances of the offender, exceptionally a Conditional Caution could be considered. Any such case considered suitable by the police for a Conditional Caution must be referred to a prosecutor and cannot be issued without the expressed authorisation of the Crown Prosecution Service.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to issue guidance to the police on requirements to refer to the Crown Prosecution Service when using the new diversionary caution for hate crime offences.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As set out in the Police, Crime, Sentencing, and Courts Act 2022, the Government legislated for a reformed two-tier cautions framework in England and Wales.
We have consulted on a draft Code of Practice to support future implementation. This covers the use, administration, and scrutiny of Diversionary and Community Cautions. The draft Code of Practice stipulates that a Diversionary or Community Caution may be given for a hate crime case but only once authorisation has been obtained from the Crown Prosecution Service. The draft Code of Practice was put to public consultation from 2 August to 13 October 2023 and invited views on the operational impact of the draft Code, including the approach to excluded offences.
Currently, we are analysing the consultation responses received to inform any necessary revisions to the draft Code of Practice and we will publish a Government response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the cost to the public purse has been to record and process non-crime hate incidents for each police force in England and Wales this Parliament.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office’s Non-Crime Hate Incidents Code of Practice on the Recording and Retention of Personal Data came into effect in June 2023 and applies to police forces across England and Wales. The code includes safeguards better to protect the fundamental right to freedom of expression and stipulates that police should only record NCHIs when it is necessary and proportionate to do so, and not simply because someone is offended. Incidents that are irrational, malicious, or trivial should not be recorded as NCHIs.
To address concerns about the recording of personal data, the code introduced an additional threshold to ensure that personal data may only be included in an NCHI record if the event is motivated by intentional hostility or prejudice and where the police judge that there is a real risk of escalation causing significant harm or a criminal offence.
The College of Policing publishes operational guidance for the police, known as ‘Authorised Professional Practice’ (APP), on how to deal with different types of crimes and incidents, including NCHIs. The College updated its APP so that it aligns with the Government’s code. The College is responsible for determining police training requirements, and has developed an e-briefing pack on NCHIs which is available to forces.
The code specifically covers characteristics that are protected under hate crime legislation in England and Wales – race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability. It defines transgender identity or perceived transgender identity by setting out that “references to being transgender include references to being transsexual, or undergoing, proposing to undergo or having undergone a process or part of a process of gender reassignment.” This aligns with the definition set out in section 66(6)(e) of the Sentencing Act 2020.
The Home Office does not collect data from forces on the number of NCHIs recorded by the police, nor do we collect data relating to the personal characteristics of those involved in incidents. We similarly do not collect information on police spending relating to the investigation of NCHIs. The data collected from the police balances policy needs and the burden on forces.
Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-crime hate incidents have been recorded under the Additional Threshold Test as of 9 January 2023.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office’s Non-Crime Hate Incidents Code of Practice on the Recording and Retention of Personal Data came into effect in June 2023 and applies to police forces across England and Wales. The code includes safeguards better to protect the fundamental right to freedom of expression and stipulates that police should only record NCHIs when it is necessary and proportionate to do so, and not simply because someone is offended. Incidents that are irrational, malicious, or trivial should not be recorded as NCHIs.
To address concerns about the recording of personal data, the code introduced an additional threshold to ensure that personal data may only be included in an NCHI record if the event is motivated by intentional hostility or prejudice and where the police judge that there is a real risk of escalation causing significant harm or a criminal offence.
The College of Policing publishes operational guidance for the police, known as ‘Authorised Professional Practice’ (APP), on how to deal with different types of crimes and incidents, including NCHIs. The College updated its APP so that it aligns with the Government’s code. The College is responsible for determining police training requirements, and has developed an e-briefing pack on NCHIs which is available to forces.
The code specifically covers characteristics that are protected under hate crime legislation in England and Wales – race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability. It defines transgender identity or perceived transgender identity by setting out that “references to being transgender include references to being transsexual, or undergoing, proposing to undergo or having undergone a process or part of a process of gender reassignment.” This aligns with the definition set out in section 66(6)(e) of the Sentencing Act 2020.
The Home Office does not collect data from forces on the number of NCHIs recorded by the police, nor do we collect data relating to the personal characteristics of those involved in incidents. We similarly do not collect information on police spending relating to the investigation of NCHIs. The data collected from the police balances policy needs and the burden on forces.
Asked by: Rachel Maclean (Conservative - Redditch)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-crime hate incidents have been recorded for each of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010 by each police force in each year of this Parliament.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office’s Non-Crime Hate Incidents Code of Practice on the Recording and Retention of Personal Data came into effect in June 2023 and applies to police forces across England and Wales. The code includes safeguards better to protect the fundamental right to freedom of expression and stipulates that police should only record NCHIs when it is necessary and proportionate to do so, and not simply because someone is offended. Incidents that are irrational, malicious, or trivial should not be recorded as NCHIs.
To address concerns about the recording of personal data, the code introduced an additional threshold to ensure that personal data may only be included in an NCHI record if the event is motivated by intentional hostility or prejudice and where the police judge that there is a real risk of escalation causing significant harm or a criminal offence.
The College of Policing publishes operational guidance for the police, known as ‘Authorised Professional Practice’ (APP), on how to deal with different types of crimes and incidents, including NCHIs. The College updated its APP so that it aligns with the Government’s code. The College is responsible for determining police training requirements, and has developed an e-briefing pack on NCHIs which is available to forces.
The code specifically covers characteristics that are protected under hate crime legislation in England and Wales – race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability. It defines transgender identity or perceived transgender identity by setting out that “references to being transgender include references to being transsexual, or undergoing, proposing to undergo or having undergone a process or part of a process of gender reassignment.” This aligns with the definition set out in section 66(6)(e) of the Sentencing Act 2020.
The Home Office does not collect data from forces on the number of NCHIs recorded by the police, nor do we collect data relating to the personal characteristics of those involved in incidents. We similarly do not collect information on police spending relating to the investigation of NCHIs. The data collected from the police balances policy needs and the burden on forces.