Under the updated CPS policy, issued this week, prosecutors will focus on gathering core evidence required to prove the case, making faster charging decisions where the evidential threshold is met even if some supporting evidence can be obtained later. Where appropriate, prosecutors will be able to make a decision whether or not to proceed based on a reliable victim’s account as well as description or photographs of injuries, or medical records.
The CPS is reducing its pre-charge disclosure requirements in hate crime cases. The guidance notes that ‘a charging decision should only be deferred if there is a reasonable line of inquiry which must be followed because it goes to the heart of whether the case can be charged or not’. It states there is a strong public interest in prosecution and ‘accordingly the expectation will be that a prosecution will follow where the evidential test is satisfied’.
Fear has escalated in the Jewish community following a spate of attacks including the stabbings in Golders Green last week, the attacks on the Hatzola ambulance service in March and the terror attacks at the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester last October, where two Jewish men were killed.
Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson said those arrested and charged for crimes against the Jewish community would be dealt with ‘as quickly as possible.
‘But it is also clear that there are daily threats or abuse which are designed to harass and distress Jewish people. These too are criminal offences and they are contributing to a climate of fear felt by the Jewish community.
‘I want to make it clear that if you are threatening or abusive towards someone and you intend to distress or are likely to cause distress then that is an offence. If your actions are motivated by religious or racial hatred then additional penalties apply.’
The CPS prosecuted 658 religious hate crimes and 11,140 defendants for racial hate crimes in the year to September 2025.
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