The Department of Justice has commissioned an independent review of hate crime legislation in Northern Ireland.

The review is to be led by Judge Desmond Marrinan and aims to make the reporting and sentencing procedure more easily understood. Judge Marrinan and a group of relevant experts will examine the legislation over the next 12 months.

Welcoming the review, SDLP MLA and Justice Spokesperson Dolores Kelly said the "long overdue" procedure should inspire public confidence in how the courts deal with alleged hate crimes.

The upper Bann MLA said: "We have all seen the stories about the intimidation of members of minority communities, be it ethnic minorities, members of the LGBT community or others. It's time we had a serious look at why our laws are deficient in discouraging these crimes and dealing with those responsible.

"We live in a society that was poisoned by fear, mistrust and hate. We should have a strong legislative base for dealing with these crimes. I welcome the broad scope of this review and the attitude taken by Desmond Marrinan as he sets about his work. He understands the need to provide authorities with a comprehensive legislative basis for pursuing offenders and restoring public confidence in this critical aspect of policing. I look forward to engaging with the review team."

The review is expected to examine the following issues:

• a workable and agreed definition of a hate crime

• whether the current enhanced sentence approach is appropriate for Northern Ireland

• whether new categories of hate crime should be created for characteristics such as gender and any other characteristics (which are not currently covered)

• the implementation and operation of the current legislative framework for incitement offences, in particular Part III of the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 and make recommendations for improvements

• how any identified gaps, anomalies and inconsistencies can be addressed in any new legislative framework ensuring this interacts effectively with other legislation guaranteeing human rights and equality

• whether there is potential for alternative or mutually supportive restorative approaches for dealing with hate motivated offending.



(JG/CM)