Racially abused postman among Cambridgeshire hate crime victims who had justice done, data reveals

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A postman who was racially abused and told to “go back to his own country" was one of the victims in Cambridgeshire who have seen justice done.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) East of England has released figures on its hate crime prosecution rate and used the attack on the postman as a case study.

The incident was witnessed by a man working nearby who checked the postman was all right and the defendant makes racist remarks to him about the postman, then tries to punch him. The defendant was charged with racially aggravated threatening behaviour and causing fear or provocation of violence.

He was sentenced to an 18 month community order which included a six month uplift for the racially aggravated element of the offence, requested by the prosecution.

This was one example highlighted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) East of England which has a strong conviction rate of 85 per cent for hate crime across its four counties – Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

In Cambridgeshire in 2014/15, there was a total of 109 prosecutions of which 18 were unsuccessful.

That's according to the latest Report on Hate Crime issued nationally today (13 July 2016) by the CPS.

Jenny Hopkins, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS East of England, said: “Hate crime is based on prejudice and hostility which has no place in our society. It may be demonstrated by offensive language, criminal damage, serious assaults and sometimes even murder, but perpetrators should be aware that we treat all cases seriously and we will work hard with the police to make sure that justice is done.

“Our conviction rate of 85 per cent for hate crime is a strong one which is above the national average and members of the public in our area can have confidence their cases will be prosecuted robustly and, if they are victims and witnesses, that they will be supported.

“We will be working with our criminal justice partners in all four counties to build on our strong foundations and identify where we can improve."

As part of CPS East of England's work to improve the way it deals with hate crime, the area has a Local Scrutiny and Involvement Panel (LSIP) made up of representatives of diverse communities across the four counties, together with other agencies.

Linda Bellos, Co-Chair of the Hate Crime LSIP, said: “The panel has an important function in helping the CPS and its criminal justice partners to improve the way hate crime cases are dealt with and the services they provide to victims and witnesses.

“It is made up of volunteers who can pass on community concerns about crime and criminal justice to the LSIP. Members then feedback on the actions the agencies will take - or have taken - in response to those concerns. It means communities can have more of a say in what is going on and a better understanding, and the CPS can learn from the Panel's feedback.

“The panel also looks at randomly selected real life hate crime cases and examines the decisions made; the way victims and witnesses have been dealt with; whether there is good practice to be shared or how standards can be improved.

“We make recommendations which are fed back to prosecutors and other staff to improve their understanding of how hate crime affects individuals and communities.

“Hate crime should not be tolerated and community members of the Panel would encourage anyone who experiences it, in whatever form it takes, to report it. By doing that, we can have a better idea of the extent of hate crime and then tackle these cowardly, abhorrent crimes."