Date:
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has published its annual statistical bulletin: ‘Cases Involving Hate Crime 2024/25’.
The bulletin is set out in two parts, reflecting the two distinct definitions applied in cases involving hate crime, as recorded by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the PPS. In Part One key statistics are presented in relation to cases involving hate crime submitted to the PPS by the PSNI, while in Part Two key statistics are presented in relation to cases considered by a Prosecutor to have involved hate crime which was ‘aggravated by hostility’.
The key findings include:
Part One: Cases Involving Hate Crime Submitted by the PSNI
During the 2024/25 financial year, the PPS received 389 files involving hate crime. This was an increase of 49 on 2023/24 (340).
Of the 389 files received in 2024/25, 183 (47%) related to racial crimes, with a further 83 files (21.3%) relating to sectarian crimes.
The majority of files received fell into the category ‘violence against the person’ (53.2%). The number of cases involving violent offences decreased by 5.9%, from 220 in 2023/24 to 207 in 2024/25.
Prosecutorial decisions were issued in respect of 456 persons, a decrease of 6.2% on 2023/24 (486).
All 11 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court were convicted of at least one offence, while the conviction rate in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts was 73.2%.
Part Two: Cases Considered by a PPS Prosecutor to have Involved Hate Crime which was ‘Aggravated by Hostility’
The PPS issued 296 prosecutorial decisions in 2024/25, of which nearly four-fifths (79.4%) were for prosecution (220) or diversion from the courts (15). This compared with the 281 prosecutorial decisions issued in 2023/24, of which 79% were for prosecution (192) or diversion from the courts (30).
The majority of the 296 decisions in 2024/25 related to offences which were either aggravated on the basis of race (151) or religion (98). 30 decisions related to offences aggravated on the basis of sexual orientation. The remaining decisions related to offences aggravated on the basis of disability or multiple motivations.
14 of the 15 defendants dealt with in the Crown Court in 2024/25 were convicted of at least one offence. Almost four-fifths (79.9%) of those dealt with in the Magistrates’ and Youth Courts were convicted, more than in 2023/24 (77.5%).
Of the total of 169 defendants convicted during 2024/25, 43 were recorded as having received an enhanced sentence due to the aggravating feature of their offence(s).