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CPS to track antisemitic prosecutions for first time after calls for change
New system will show how many antisemitic cases reach court and whether offenders are convicted
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has begun recording antisemitic hate crimes separately for the first time, following growing pressure over how offences against Jewish people are handled.
The change means prosecutors can now track how many antisemitic cases lead to charges, reach court and result in convictions.
Until now, the CPS recorded offences under broad racial and religious hate crime categories, making it impossible to identify how many cases specifically involved antisemitism.
According to documents obtained by The Telegraph, the new system was introduced in May, allowing prosecutors to distinguish between antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes.
The move follows mounting concern over attacks targeting Britain’s Jewish community, including the stabbing of two Jewish men in Golders Green in April.
The CPS confirmed that two new markers had been added to its system to identify cases involving antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred.
Jewish community leaders have welcomed the decision, saying it will make it easier to see whether offenders are being brought to justice.
David Toube, general counsel at the Jewish Leadership Council, said: “We have long called for the CPS to collect this data, and are pleased that they have listened.
“Jews are vastly disproportionately targeted by religious hate crime, yet without prosecution data we cannot know how effectively these offences are being prosecuted. Understanding where the system is falling short is essential if we are to improve it.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said it had spent more than a decade calling for CPS to publish separate figures for antisemitic prosecutions.
The organisation said it had written to Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson just weeks ago, urging him to change the policy.
CAA also claimed that previous prosecutors had promised to introduce the figures but failed to follow through.
Welcoming the decision, the group said: “We cannot hold public bodies to account if they make it impossible to assess their performance, and they cannot improve without public scrutiny.”
It added that the change would help rebuild trust between the Jewish community and the CPS, describing it as “an important milestone in the fight against antisemitism.”
The change comes amid persistently high levels of antisemitism across Britain.
Figures from the Community Security Trust (CST) show that 1,926 antisemitic incidents were recorded during the first six months of 2026, twice the level seen before the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel.
Sir Michael Ellis, a former Conservative attorney general, also welcomed the move, saying the CPS had finally responded to concerns about the scale of antisemitic crime.
“Due to the outcry about unprecedented levels of anti-semitic crime against British Jews, the CPS has at last started to record specifically these offences. That is to be welcomed,” he said.
“It is clear that the number of hate crimes Jews are subjected to is disproportionate. Collecting this data is a vital tool for the CPS to recognise where it is failing.”
The CPS said the new system would help it assess its performance and improve transparency over how hate crimes are prosecuted.
A spokesperson said: “There is no place for hate in our society, and we will do everything we can to prosecute those responsible.”
The spokesperson added that the CPS was working to speed up decisions in hate crime cases while maintaining the quality of its prosecutions.
The new figures will give Jewish organisations a clear picture of how antisemitic cases move through the justice system, although offences recorded before May cannot be separately identified using the new markers.
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