Hate crime in court: Why LGBTQ+ conviction rates are so low in the South West

There needs to be funding for the legal system as a whole if victims of hate crime are to receive fair justice, according to a lawyer from Bristol.

It comes as reports of hate crime against the LGBTQ+ community have risen by more than 32% across the South West since 2019.

However, just 4% of these cases have resulted in a charge, with an even lower conviction rate.

Ian Kelcey, who is a defence lawyer at a firm in Bristol, said victims of hate crimes are not properly served by the justice system as it currently stands.

He said: "It's because the police are under-resourced. The prosecution is under-resourced The defence and court services are under-resourced.

"There needs to be more funding for the criminal justice system as a whole. And until we get a Lord Chancellor who's prepared to embrace that then we're not going to see any change."

Mr Kelcey went on to explain that due to a lack of funding, cases are left open-ended and often without enough evidence to prosecute.

Lawyer Ian Kelcey says the entire justice system is underfunded.

However, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it is trying to tackle the issue. The department has put more officers on the streets and is committed to reducing the backlog of cases in the courts.

A Government spokesperson said: "Hate crimes are abhorrent and should always be investigated fully by the police and pursued rigorously through the courts.

“We are giving the police the resources they need to tackle these hateful attacks - including delivering 20,000 additional police officers bringing the total number of officers to the highest it has ever been.

"We are also investing billions into our criminal justice system to restore the swift justice victims deserve, including £477 million to bring down the outstanding caseload in the criminal courts.”

Commenting on the increase in reported hate crimes, the MoJ said: "The biggest driver is likely to be a general improvement in police recording.

"The police are also better at identifying whether a crime is a hate crime, along with increased victim willingness to come forward.

"This is positive and reflects the hard work that has gone into ensuring that police can target their resources, understand the scale of the challenge and ensure that victims get the support they need."

In response to the backlog of cases, the MOJ said its three-year plan to invest £477m will help: "We have introduced a raft of measures to speed up justice for victims and improve the justice system.

"This includes unlimited sitting days, Nightingale courts and increasing judicial recruitment – to reduce the backlog by over 2,000 from its pandemic-induced peak of 61,000 in June 2021 to 58,600 in March 2022 before Criminal Bar Association strike action began."

Tim Birkbeck works for the charity Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI).

But behind the figures, are people who just want to be accepted and live their lives.

Stand Against Racism & Inequality (SARI) is a Bristol-based charity which gives free and confidential support to anyone who is a victim of hate crime.

Tim Birkbeck, who is the LGBT lead at SARI, explained that if people learn to accept others then hate crime cases will, in turn, go down.

"Hate crime can have a really long-lasting effect. They might be the only gay person, the only trans person, the only queer person within that village or smaller town," Tim said.

"People just tend to view it as 'you're a bit odd or you're a bit weird'. This can lead to conflicts, disparity, prejudice. Either consciously or unconsciously."

Tim believes that if we, as a society, can get to the core as to why people express hate towards each other, then the issue of hate crime will eventually cease to exist.