Reinterpreting The Uk Response To Hate Crime
| Author | Dr Wendy Laverick, Peter Joyce |
| Pages | 82-102 |
82
British Journal of Community Justice
©2020 Manchester Metropolitan University
ISSN 1475-0279
Vol. 16(1) 82–102
REINTERPRETING THE UK RESPONSE TO HATE CRIME
W. Laverick, University of Hull, and N. P. Joyce, University of Glyndŵr
Abstract
This paper considers the motivation an d function of the UK’s hate-crime framework,
offering a historically located interpretation. It discusses the development of legislation to
combat discrimination- and prejudice-motivated harassment and offending before
examining recent assessments of the UK’s approach. It then provides a cursory examination
of the historical context in which the UK’s legislative and policy developments emerged.
After exposing the li mitations of the current UK response and fram ing this in a wider
domestic and international context, the paper concludes by arguing that the UK’s evolving
hate-crime policy framework currently remains partial and serves to obfuscate its social
control objectives, along with the political anxieties related to the ideological and political
threats and disorder that underpinn ed its development. The article concludes by arguing
that th e current framework has recently downgraded – and increasingly sidesteps – the
need to address internal manifestations of illiberalism, including institutional
discrimination, workforce representati veness, racial and religious disparity , and equal
opportunities.
Keywords
Hate crime; illiberalism; political disorder; social disorder
Laverick and Joyce
83
Introduction
In 1999, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (E CRI) credited the
United Kingdom (UK) for hav ing ‘one of the most advanced institutional frameworks to
combat racism and discrimination’ (ECRI, 1999). Since that time, and following in the wake
of a s eries of high-profile preju dice-based incidents, the re mit of the UK’s framework has
widened, moving beyond an exclusive focus upo n race to incorporate an ‘innovative legal
and policy framework applicable to hate crimes’ (UN, 2018a). Indeed, the UK framework
now obliges forces to record data on hate crimes and hate incidents motivated on the basis
of five monitored strands: race, sexual orientation, transgender status, faith and disability
(Laverick and Joyce, 2019). Local partnerships are permitted to extend the focus of their
hate crime policies to address local concerns and crimes motivated by other manifestations
of hostility, such as those related to alternative sub-cultures following the death of Sophie
Lancaster within Greater Manchester (College of Policing, 2014a:7-8) and misogynistic
incidents in Nottinghamshire (BBC News, 2016:online).
This paper considers the motivation and function of the UK’s hate crime framework, offering
a historically located interpretation. It discusses the development of legislation to combat
discrimination- an d prejudice-motivated harassment a nd offending before examining
recent assess ments of the UK’s approach. It then provides a cursory examination of the
historical context in which the UK’s legislative and policy developments emerged. After
exposing the limitations of the current UK response and framing this in a wider domestic
and international context, the paper concludes by arguing that the UK’s evolving hate crime
policy framework currently remains partial and serves to obfuscate its s ocial control
objectives, along with the political anxieties related to the ideological and political threats
and disorder that u nderpinned its development. This article concludes by arguing that the
current framework has recently downgraded – an d increasingly sidesteps – the need to
address internal manifestations of illiberalism, including institutional discrimination,
workforce representativeness, racial and religious disparity and equal opportunities. Whilst
often neglected by hate crime scholarship, it is suggested that acti on to address structural
and institutional illiberalism, in conjunction with wider economic development strategy and
immigration controls, can function to serve the primary goal of maintaining social contro l
and order. It is suggested that uncoupling the former components of this strategy from
current hate crime and vulnerability frameworks directs attention away from the roots of
this legislative and policy framework, and will ultimately fail to alleviate the structural
conditions conducive to prejudice-based violence.
Hate crime as a priority concern
The UK is generally regarded as having both an ‘advanced institutional framework’ (ECRI,
1999:7) and ‘generally strong legislation’ (ECRI, 2016:9) to combat racis m and
discrimination. The 1965 Race Relations Act is wid ely regarded as the first piece of
legislation in the UK to address the prohibition of racial discrimination (Hindell, 1965).
Nevertheless, racist threats and intimidation have persisted across the UK, prompting
further efforts to cou nter incitement to racial h atred, particularly through Part III of the
Public Order Act 1986, which was largely presented as action to protect ethnic minorities
from racist abuse and intimidation (Hansard, 1985).
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