More Than an Assault: When is a Crime a Hate Crime

In Northern Ireland, what makes a crime a hate crime often starts with the victim's or witness's experience. Guided by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, both the PSNI and Public Prosecution Service adopt a simple principle: if you believe an offence was motivated by hostility towards your race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender identity, it must be recorded and investigated as a hate crime.

While sectarianism is historically more familiar in Northern Ireland, a stark new trend of racist hate crimes has emerged. Since 2016, racist crimes have consistently outnumbered sectarian incidents. This is particularly alarming given that Black and Minority Ethnic communities make up just 3.4% of the population here.

This troubling rise, compounded by widespread under-reporting and very low prosecution rates (just 3.4% in 2023/24), fuelled demands for reform. In response, the Department of Justice commissioned an independent review of hate crime legislation in June 2019, appointing Judge Desmond Marrinan to lead it.

Judge Marrinan's review concluded in 2020 with 34 recommendations. To date, none have been fully implemented, though some plans are now in motion.

A core issue is that Northern Ireland currently has no statutory definition of a hate crime. The review's first and fundamental recommendation was to create one. It proposed defining a hate crime as: “a criminal act perpetrated against individuals or communities with protected characteristics based on the perpetrator's hostility, bias, prejudice, bigotry or contempt against the actual or perceived status of the victim or victims.” (Final Report)

As Marrinan explained, the core offence (like assault or criminal damage) is already illegal; it's the hostile motive that marks it as a hate crime. In practice, this means someone is prosecuted for the base offence alone. Our current law only adds a "hate crime" label at the very end, allowing for a harsher sentence if they are found guilty. The 'hate' element itself is not tried in court.

Marrinan found this system flawed. Instead, the review proposed a "hate crime aggravation" model. Here, the hate element is attached to the charge and proven in court. This makes the perpetrator's hostility, and the specific harm it causes, central to the entire process—from investigation to verdict. The prosecution must prove it, the defence can challenge it, and if convicted, the hate crime aggravation becomes a permanent part of the offender's record.

This shift is about more than procedure. As Marrinan argued, it sends a clear societal message: “by putting the 'hate' element into the offence stage, the legislature would be making it clear that the 'hate' element means that a different sort of wrong/harm has been caused by the defendant — one that cuts to the heart of our values as a progressive liberal society. I believe that that principle is seriously diluted in a sentencing only system.”

(It's worth noting there is also no legal definition of sectarianism in NI either. The review recommended adopting and adapting the Scottish definition, and creating a parallel offence of 'statutory aggravation for sectarian prejudice'.)

Marrinan makes a distinction between hate crime and provisions around incitement or expression; as explored in this blog.

In September 2024, the Minister of Justice announced plans for interim legislation. While this stops short of the full bill recommended by Marrinan, it does propose to finally introduce the statutory aggravation model for hate crimes.

On 12 February 2026 the Department for Justice announced that its new sentencing bill, including the aggravator model for hate crime, would soon be introduced in the NI Assembly.