Racially and Religiously Aggravated

Question 1

Which offences can be racially or religiously aggravated?

Answer 1

Assaults

• GBH
• ABH
• Common Assault

Criminal damage
- simple criminal damage

Public order

• S4
• S4A
• S5

Harassment

• harassment
• stalking
• putting people in fear of violence
• stalking involving fear of violence
• a racist incident will not automatically making something aggravated

Question 2

What is racially or religiously aggravated?

Answer 2

An offence is racially or religiously aggravated if…

• at the time of, immediately before or immediately after, the suspect demonstrated to the victim hostility based on their membership or presumed membership of a racial or religious group
• the crime is motivated wholly or partly by hostility towards a racial or religious group
• a religious group includes atheists as it covers a LACK of religious belief
• retrospective use of offensive terms, some time after the offence (20 minuets say) is not immediate and should not complete the offence
• demonstration does not require any state of mind; simply doing it is enough
• police officers can be victims of thirst offences
• THE VICTIMS PERCEPTION OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS IRRELEVANT

Question 3

How does criminal damage get made into a racially of religiously aggravated offence?

Answer 3

The person who is the owner will be the victim and as the offence is directing hostility at the victim, for the offence to be complete it must be the owner who is being target, not someone else.

• if a large company is targeted (criminal damage of a bus shelter with racist graffiti), the bus company can NOT have a racial or religious affiliation by definition so CANNOT be the victim of such an aggravated offence. However, if the attack is MOTIVATED by relevant hatred then that can be an aggravated factor

Question 4

What makes a racial group?

Answer 4

Having a…

• long shared history (most important)
• cultural tradition (most important)
• common geographical ancestry or descent from common ancestors
• common language
• common literature
• common religion
• characteristic of being a minority, dominant or oppressed group in a larger community
• this highlights Sikhs and Jews
• Romany gypsies are covered as a racial group but the term traveller is not. Irish travellers however are a district group and could be covered by the national part in Irish and English and Scottishness already taken to be covered as a race
• immigrant is covered as a racial term
• “foreigners” is suitable term to complete the offence of racially motivated
• white mans arse licker and brown Englishman are NOT enough to complete the offence

Question 5

What are covered by religious groups?

Answer 5

• any defined religious group
• Rastafarians (who are NOT a defined racial group)
• Muslims (who are not a defined racial group)
• atheist / humanist / agnostic

Question 6

What does membership mean?

Answer 6

It means belling to a particular group but can also include ASSOCIATIONS, such as a white person with a black partner would be part of that group by their association. It also covers people who work within those groups who are targeted because of their association

As presumed membership is included, the fact that presumption is wrong still means it is a valid offence

• associated factors that might explain why they committed the offence are IRRELEVANT and it only matter if there is the demonstration or motivation