Hate crime prosecutions up almost one-third in UK News
Hate crime prosecutions up almost one-third in UK

[JURIST] The Crown Prosecution Service [official website] released a report [PDF text] on Friday that shows prosecutions for hate crimes during April 2004 to March 2005 up 29 percent over the previous year [press release]. A record 4,660 people were prosecuted, and another 1,128 cases were dropped, many because witnesses failed to testify. The figures do not include incidents related to the July London bombings [JURIST news archive], but officials are uncertain if another increase will result. UK police initially reported no significant increase [JURIST report] in anti-Muslim violence after the bombings. Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the Muslim Council of Britain [advocacy website], said "After the bomb attacks in London we saw a spate of racist incidents. What will the figures be next year?" The Independent has more.

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