Dorset is winning the war on hate crime as it is revealed it has one of the highest conviction rates in the country for these offences.

Figures from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) show in 2016/17 there were 106 prosecutions for hate crime in Dorset with 98 cases successfully resulting in a conviction – a rate of 92.5 per cent.

This is one of the highest in England and Wales. Only Warwickshire is higher with 94.2 per cent of prosecutions resulting in a conviction.

The county falls within the Wessex CPS area – an area which has the highest conviction rates in the country for hate crime prosecutions. 

Of the 14 CPS areas in England and Wales, Wessex – comprising Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Wiltshire – topped the tables with 90.1 per cent of hate crimes prosecuted in 2016/17 resulting in conviction.

Hate crime is when a person is targeted because of their actual or perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or disability.

The figures are revealed ahead of a visit to the region today by Solicitor General Robert Buckland QC MP.

He said: “One incident of hate crime is one too many and those responsible need to be brought to justice. I’d like to thank CPS Wessex for the fantastic job it’s doing to tackle hate crime in the region."

Dorset topped the tables in Wessex with a higher percentage of successful convictions than Wiltshire (86.6 per cent) and Hampshire and Isle of Wight (90.6 per cent). 

In 2016/17 in Dorset there were 77 convictions for racial and religious crimes, 14 convictions for homophobic and transphobic crimes, 7 convictions for disability hate crimes and 32 convictions for crimes against an older person.

Last year the Echo reported how a post-Brexit spike in offences in a three month period in 2016 led to the county having the highest level of hate crime since records began.

But police stressed that overall, offences remained relatively low compared to other parts of the country.

Today, the Solicitor General will be visiting Salisbury to see what is being done in Wessex to tackle hate crime.

He will visit the CPS Wessex at Salisbury Law Courts to discuss efforts to prosecute hate crime offences.

While in the region, he will also meet with Wessex's Hate Crime Scrutiny and Involvement Panel. 

Panel members include volunteers and key colleagues from partner agencies, who support prosecutors to identify and adopt best practices for reviewing hate crime cases.

The CPS rolled out a training programme to all prosecutors in 2016 on disability hate crime which saw the conviction rate increase by 5.7 per cent in Wessex to 86.4 per cent of disability hate crime cases prosecuted resulting in a conviction. 

According to the Attorney General's Office, Wessex’s conviction rates have improved in all strands of hate crime, demonstrating how seriously prosecutors take cases of hostility based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.

The CPS has plans to deliver new training packages in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Mr Buckland said: “Victims need to report these crimes and feel that they will be taken seriously if we are to stamp this out, so it’s encouraging to see the work happening to train prosecutors in case handling. This has no doubt contributed to improving the conviction rate and the CPS’ service to victims.”

New training for prosecutors

The CPS rolled out a training programme to all prosecutors in 2016 on disability hate crime which saw the conviction rate increase by 5.7 per cent to 86.4 per cent. 

According to the Attorney General’s Office, Wessex’s conviction rates have improved in all strands of hate crime, demonstrating how seriously prosecutors take cases of hostility based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity.

The CPS has plans to deliver new training packages in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Mr Buckland said: “Victims need to report these crimes and feel that they will be taken seriously if we are to stamp this out, so it’s encouraging to see the work happening to train prosecutors in case handling. 

“This has no doubt contributed to improving the conviction rate and the CPS’ service to victims.”