1. Racial or religious aggravation – statutory provisions

Sections 29 to 32 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 create specific racially or religiously aggravated offences, which have higher maximum penalties than the non-aggravated versions of those offences. The individual offence guidelines indicate whether there is a specifically aggravated form of the offence.

An offence is racially or religiously aggravated for the purposes of sections 29-32 of the Act if the offender demonstrates hostility towards the victim based on his or her membership (or presumed membership) of a racial or religious group, or if the offence is (wholly or partly) motivated by racial or religious hostility.

For all other offences, section 66 of the Sentencing Code provides that the court must regard racial or religious aggravation as an aggravating factor.

The court should not treat an offence as racially or religiously aggravated for the purposes of section 66 where a racially or religiously aggravated form of the offence was charged but resulted in an acquittal. The court should not normally treat an offence as racially or religiously aggravated if a racially or religiously aggravated form of the offence was available but was not charged. Consult your legal adviser for further guidance in these situations.