CPS issues new hate crime guidance in effort to tackle rise in antisemitism
The apparent difficulty of prosecuting cases of antisemitism is an issue which has long troubled many British Jews
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has published updated hate crime prosecution guidance, intended to speed up charging decisions in order to more effectively tackle the rise in antisemitic incidents.
Today’s guidance, issued by Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson, has been described by the organisation as focusing “on the gathering of core evidence so action can be taken to make sure cases progress swiftly”.
Among the changes to the guidance is a decision to charge those accused of hate crimes as soon as the evidential threshold is met, rather than waiting for further supporting evidence before suspects are charged. Additionally, the CPS will now, “in appropriate cases”, enable prosecutors to make a charging decision “based on a reliable victim’s account; and a description or photographs of injuries, or medical records, in assault cases at the charging decision stage.” The CPS also said that charging decisions “should concentrate on the essential evidence needed to prove the offence.” And in what appears to be a specific effort to address concerns about the relationship between prosecutors and police, it also announced that to reduce the burden on policing, some material related to disclosure requirements will no longer be required pre-charge.”
The apparent difficulty of prosecuting cases of antisemitism is an issue which has long troubled many British Jews. There have been a series of infamous cases where the CPS dropped charges against those accused of hate crimes against the Jewish community. Perhaps the most notorious was in the wake of a 2021 “Convoy for Palestine”, where cars drove through areas of London with large Jewish communities, with an individual using a loudspeaker in one of the cars shouting “f*** the Jews. Rape their daughters.” Charges against all four of the people in the car arrested over the incident were subsequently dropped. In March of this year, Home Office data revealed that despite a far higher per-capita targeting, antisemitic hate crimes were significantly less likely to result in a charge than offences targeting Muslims.
Responding to the announcement of the new guidance, Stephen Parkinson, Director of Public Prosecutions, said:
“The acts of extreme violence and criminal damage that we have seen against the Jewish community in recent months have been deplorable. People have been arrested and charged and those cases will be dealt with as quickly as possible.
“But it is also clear that there are daily threats or abuse which are designed to harass and distress Jewish people. These too are criminal offences and they are contributing to a climate of fear felt by the Jewish community.
“If we allow this behaviour to become normalised, then its seriousness will become diminished and the problem of antisemitism will continue to grow. We must stop it in its tracks.
“I want to make it clear that if you are threatening or abusive towards someone and you intend to distress or are likely to cause distress then that is an offence. If your actions are motivated by religious or racial hatred then additional penalties apply.
“We are engaging directly with Jewish communities to ensure their voices are heard and concerns addressed. To anyone who has experienced or witnessed antisemitic abuse or violence, I encourage you to report it to police. Your reports matter and this guidance allows us to work with policing to take swift action and ensure that offenders face justice.”
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