Hate Crime: Prosecutions
The question
To ask the Solicitor General, how many prosecutions for hate crimes have the CPS commenced in each of the last 12 months; and how many and what proportion of these prosecutions resulted in conviction.
Answered by Lucy Rigby
In the year to December 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) authorised the charging of a total of 11,777 suspects in hate crime flagged cases with 87.4% of legal decisions resulting in a suspect being charged.
The below table provides a breakdown of the monthly charge volumes and rate for 2024.
| 24-01 | 24-02 | 24-03 | 24-04 | 24-05 | 24-06 | 24-07 | 24-08 | 24-09 | 24-10 | 24-11 | 24-12 |
Suspects Charged | 852 | 888 | 891 | 937 | 911 | 859 | 1,010 | 1,429 | 974 | 1,039 | 1,005 | 982 |
Charge Rate (% of all legal decisions) | 85.5% | 86.4% | 85.8% | 88.1% | 87.6% | 86.5% | 85.8% | 91.7% | 86.7% | 85.1% | 88.3% | 88.9% |
Over the same period the CPS has prosecuted 14,657 defendants of which 12,614 were convicted, giving a conviction rate of 86.1% for the 2024 calendar year.
The below table provides a breakdown of the monthly completed prosecutions and convictions for 2024.
| 24-01 | 24-02 | 24-03 | 24-04 | 24-05 | 24-06 | 24-07 | 24-08 | 24-09 | 24-10 | 24-11 | 24-12 |
Completed Prosecutions | 1,183 | 1,112 | 1,092 | 1,116 | 1,255 | 1,102 | 1,222 | 1,419 | 1,283 | 1,462 | 1,325 | 1,086 |
Convictions | 1,015 | 976 | 919 | 970 | 1,069 | 931 | 1,039 | 1,257 | 1,108 | 1,259 | 1,140 | 931 |
Conviction Rate (%) | 85.8% | 87.8% | 84.2% | 86.9% | 85.2% | 84.5% | 85.0% | 88.6% | 86.4% | 86.1% | 86.0% | 85.7% |
The volume of prosecution outcomes for a period differs from the volume of pre charge decisions for the same period. Where the pre charge decision is to bring charges many cases will only reach a conclusion in a later period. This will vary according to the outcome type: for example, the legal process is longer where a case is contested or sent to the Crown Court and tried by jury.
Further information can be found in quarterly data published on the CPS website: CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service.
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