Sadly, although crime overall in the UK is falling the incidence of some violent crime, ranging from sexual assault (including rape), to happy slapping, domestic violence and some hate crimes have been on the increase, unfortunately West Yorkshire is no exception. It is important to state that solicitors of criminal law will consider threats of violence with actual violence with equivalent seriousness. As with all regional law enforcement agencies, West Yorkshire police will view the crime as violent, even if it does not result in physical harm. Clearly, such criminal behaviour is severely disturbing for the victims.
A violent crime can happen at any time and in any location and sadly the victim is often known to the perpetrator. Without doubt, violent crime can be exceptionally frightening and have profound emotional and/or mental health consequences for the victim. There are no set responses and it is most certainly not a solicitor’s job to counsel the victim as such. Their job is to represent the victim to the utmost of their ability in crown court. It is worth pointing out that almost all violent crime will be referred to crown court from the magistrate’s court.
One aspect of violent crime is hate crime. This is defined as crime motivated by “hostility or prejudice” based on:
- Disability
- Race
- Religion
- Transgender Identity
- Sexual orientation
The person receiving the criminal behaviour decides whether or not the incident is a hate serious crime solicitors in West Yorkshire and the police record all hate crime as a function of abuse based on these five attributes. West Yorkshire police promise to “identify and vigorously investigate all hate incidents, including those reported via other agencies”, this means hate crime is subject to the law just as any other criminal behavior is.
In addition if solicitors can demonstrate at crown court that an incident is a hate crime then the judge has the power to pass down a tougher sentence than would otherwise be the case. On this note it is important to note that offensive behavior based on age or political affiliations is not yet covered by the definition hate crime as stipulated in the law. They can be reported but in themselves are not a criminal offence.
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