Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024

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PART 2

Offences Aggravated by Hatred

Amendment of Criminal Damage Act 1991

5. The Criminal Damage Act 1991 is amended—

(a) in section 1—

(i) in subsection (1), by the insertion of the following definitions:

“ ‘Act of 2024’ means the Criminal Justice (Hate Offences) Act 2024;

‘hatred’ has the meaning it has in section 2 of the Act of 2024;

‘protected characteristic’ has the meaning it has in section 2 of the Act of 2024;”,

(ii) in subsection (3)—

(I) by the substitution of “an offence under section 2, 2A, 3(a) or 4(a)” for “an offence under section 2, 3(a) or 4(a)”, and

(II) by the substitution of “sections 2, 2A, 3(a) and 4(a)” for “sections 2, 3(a) and 4(a)”,

and

(iii) in subsection (3A), by the substitution of “an offence under section 2, 2A, 3(a) or 4(a)” for “an offence under section 2, 3(a) or 4(a)”,

(b) by the insertion of the following section after section 2:

“Damaging property aggravated by hatred

2A. (1) A person shall be guilty of an offence under this section if he or she commits an offence under section 2 which is aggravated by hatred for the purposes of this section.

(2) An offence under section 2 committed by a person is aggravated by hatred for the purposes of this section if—

(a) where there is a specific victim of the offence—

(i) at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the person demonstrates hatred towards the victim, and

(ii) the hatred is on account of the victim’s membership or presumed membership of a group defined by reference to a protected characteristic,

or

(b) whether or not there is a specific victim of the offence, the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by hatred towards a group of persons on account of the group being defined by reference to a protected characteristic.

(3) It is immaterial whether or not an accused person’s hatred is also on account (to any extent) of any other factor.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a class B fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment—

(i) in case the offence under section 2 that the person commits is arson under subsection (1) or (3) of that section or an offence under subsection (2) of that section (whether arson or not), to a fine or imprisonment for life or both, or

(ii) in case the offence under section 2 that the person commits is an offence other than one referred to in subparagraph (i), to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 years or both.

(5) A person charged with an offence under this section may, if the evidence does not warrant conviction for an offence under this section, be found guilty of an offence under section 2.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (2)(a), the person to whom the property concerned belongs or is treated as belonging for the purposes of this Act shall be regarded as the victim of an offence under section 2 of damaging that property.

(7) In this section—

‘membership’, in relation to a group, includes association with members of the group;

‘presumed’ means presumed by the person who commits an offence under section 2.”,

(c) in section 6(1), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):

“(a) an offence under section 2(1), including such an offence when committed aggravated by hatred for the purposes of section 2A,”,

and

(d) in section 7, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2):

“(2A) In this section, references to an offence under section 2 shall include references to such an offence when committed aggravated by hatred for the purposes of section 2A.”.