HATE crime cases reported to prosecutors in Northern Ireland have increased by six per cent in the past year.
The number of cases involving a hate crime reported by the PSNI to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) rose from 335 in the previous year to 355 in 2018/19.
Most cases related to race (37.2 per cent), followed by those considered sectarian (31 per cent), homophobic (14.1 per cent) and cases involving faith/religion (8.2 per cent).
Of all the cases in the past year, 222 or 62.5 per cent fell into the category of 'violence against the person' – a 6.7 per cent increase compared to 208 in 2017/18.
A decision to prosecute was taken by the PPS in 51.2 per cent of cases. Diversionary reprimands such as cautions were used in 4.9 per cent of cases, while 44 per cent resulted in a decision not to prosecute.
The PPS said prosecutorial decisions were issued in respect of 432 people – an increase of 1.6 per cent on the 425 in 2017/18.
Of the 14 defendants dealt with in Crown Court, 13 were convicted of at least one offence. The conviction rate in magistrates and youth courts was 73.1 per cent.
The PPS also released figures for cases considered to have involved a hate crime 'aggravated by hostility'.
Of these 265 cases in 2018/19, 131 related to race, 75 to religion, 40 to sexuality, five to disability and the others had multiple motivations.
A decision to prosecute was taken in 67.5 per cent of the cases.
In the Crown Court, all 16 defendants were convicted of at least one offence. In magistrates and youth courts, 80.5 per cent of those dealt with were convicted – an increase on the 68.3 per cent in 2017/18.
