The Law
The following section presents a number of legislative options in combating hate crime. For further advice contact your local police station.
Section 7 from the ACPO Guide to Identifying and Combating Hate Crime (PDF 44kb)
- The Crime and Disorder Act 1998 created a number of new racially and religiously aggravated offences
- The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced tougher sentences for offences motivated by hatred of the victim’s sexual orientation (this must now be taken into account by the sentencing court as an aggravating factor, in addition to race or religious hate motivation).
The Racial and Religious Hatred Act
This law, which came into effect in 2007, makes it a criminal offence to use threatening words or behavior with the intention of stirring up hatred against any group of people because of their religious beliefs or their lack of religious beliefs.
You can download and read the full act (new window) for more information