Racial Aggravation & Sentencing

Section 82 Crime & Disorder Act 1998 requires the court to consider racial motivation or racial hostility as aggravating factors when deciding on the sentence for any offence which is not specific racially aggravated offence under the Act.

This applies when a court is considering the seriousness of an offence other than that under Section 29-32 of the Act.

If the offence was racially aggravated, the court shall treat that fact as an aggravating factor (ie a factor that increases the seriousness of the offence) and shall state this in open court. So, racial aggravation, although not an element of the offence, can be taken into consideration by the court in sentencing for any offence.

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