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Top-level police and CPS probe into lyrics of hate song against gays

Ever since a BBC Radio 4 programme some months ago highlighted that the Jamaican record ‘Chi Chi Man’ was inciting violence against homosexuals, CHE Executive Committee member Alan Louis has been campaigning for action against the rap band TOK which has issued this compact disc on the ReggaeSound.com label. Alan failed to get action from his local police in North-East London on the grounds that officers did not have power to act.

So at the 21 February meeting of Greater London Authority Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered stakeholders Alan raised the matter. That meeting agreed the issue be passed to Lee Jasper, the Mayor of London’s Advisor on Equalities.

In the light of a case going through the legal process, which involved a person advocating attacks on Jews, Jack Gilbert – who attended that meeting – was most enthusiastic to pursue Alan’s case. Closely involved with the Jewish Community Trust, Jack is also a member of the Metropolitan Police Service’s LGBT Advisory Group.

On behalf of the Advisory Group, Jack contacted Assistant Deputy Commissioner John Grieve who has just retired as Head of the Racial and Hate Crime Task Force within MPS. In a letter to Mr Grieve, Jack advances Alan’s argument:

‘We now have a case where a Jamaican convert to Islam, Abdul El Fiesal, has been charged with “Incitement to Murder” all Jews under the Offences Against the Person Act, 1861; selling offensive videos and audio tapes through Muslim bookshops; held on remand and due to appear at Bow Street Magistrates Court on Thursday, 20 February 2002. Is this not a similar offence?’

Jack quoted from Alan’s letter in which he states: ‘I have reported this incident to the Police at Stoke Newington and the Hackney Safety Officer at Ridley Road. In both cases I was told there was no legislation to tackle this problem.’

‘Chi Chi’ is Jamaican slang for ‘termite’ or ‘vermin’; while a derogatory phrase for a gay man is ‘Chi Chi Man’.

The song is available for purchase nationwide; can be played on licensed premises and adopted as a street anthem which is a clear incitement to violence, torching and hatred against, and murder of, lesbians and gay men, as well as their families and places of recreation.

Mr Grieve was asked in Jack’s letter: ‘Does the selling, distribution or playing of this track in a licensed environment constitute any potential criminal offence ?’ Jack concluded: ‘We regard this as a form of hate crime which dehumanises and places at risk in particular black lesbians and gay men.’

It is known that a senior police officer at New Scotland Yard is investigating the matter and has been in contact with the Crown Prosecution Service. CHE, and in particular Alan Louis, await with interest the outcome of the current investigation.

Dear Mr Louis,

Thank you for your letter dated 8 November 2004 about homophobic crime, addressed to Mr Blunkett. As I am sure you will appreciate, the Home Secretary receives a large amount of correspondence and unfortunately is unable to respond to each item individually. Your letter has been transferred to the Sentencing Policy and Penalties Unit and I have been asked to reply.

I would like to reassure you that the Government feels strongly that homophobic crime must not be tolerated or be seen to be tolerated and we are committed to bringing down hate crime, including homophobic crime.

The Criminal Justice Act (CJA) 2003 (section 146) makes homophobic crime a statutory aggravating factor in sentencing. Section 146 of the Act applies to cases where immediately before or during the offence the offender demonstrated hostility towards the victim based upon sexual orientation or disability, or to cases where the offence is motivated by hostility towards persons who are of a particular sexual orientation or who have a disability. Courts must treat those circumstances as an aggravating factor, and it must be stated in open court that the offence was so aggravated. This is new legislation which the CJA 2003 has brought in for the first time.

The commencement date for these sections of the 2003 Act is currently under consideration and will be announced in due course. However, sentencers can and do take into account the circumstances of the offence including aggravating factors such as hostility based upon the victims sexuality, this legislation is simply putting that practice into statute.

These measures were included in the CJA 2003 to act as a deterrent and so help protect those groups from harassment and attack, as well as sending a clear message that such behaviour is unacceptable in our society and will not be tolerated.

The criminal law already contains a wide range of powers to deal with violent behaviour and harassment. This includes, under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998, the ability for courts to issue higher sentences to perpetrators of crimes motivated by hate. The Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), working with the Government, has developed guidance for police forces in dealing with these types of crime. This guidance is entitled Identifying and Combating Hate Crime and was last updated in April 2002.

To solicit or incite another to commit a crime (through, for example, homophobic song lyrics) is indictable under common law, even if the solicitation or incitement has no effect. Therefore a crime would not actually need to be committed to convict people of incitement to violence.

Yours sincerely,

Kathryn Lynch
Sentencing Policy and Penalties Unit