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Section 96: Offences racially aggravated.

Crime and Disorder Act 1998 · 1998 c. 37View on legislation.gov.uk

This provision is repealed
It is retained for historical reference and may not reflect the law currently in force.

Part IV: Dealing with offenders — Chapter II: Scotland

REPEALED on 2024-04-01 by Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

The text below is the provision as originally enacted. It is historical and may not include amendments made before this status change. View the enacted source.

The provisions of this section shall apply where it is—

libelled in an indictment; or
specified in a complaint,

and, in either case, proved that an offence has been racially aggravated.

An offence is racially aggravated for the purposes of this section if—

at the time of committing the offence, or immediately before or after doing so, the offender evinces towards the victim (if any) of the offence malice and ill-will based on the victim’s membership (or presumed membership) of a racial group; or
the offence is motivated (wholly or partly) by malice and ill-will towards members of a racial group based on their membership of that group,

and evidence from a single source shall be sufficient evidence to establish, for the purposes of this subsection, that an offence is racially aggravated.

In subsection (2)(a) above—

  • “membership”, in relation to a racial group, includes association with members of that group;

  • “presumed” means presumed by the offender.

It is immaterial for the purposes of paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (2) above whether or not the offender’s malice and ill-will is also based, to any extent, on—

the fact or presumption that any person or group of persons belongs to any religious group; or
any other factor not mentioned in that paragraph.

Where this section applies, the court shall, on convicting a person, take the aggravation into account in determining the appropriate sentence.

In this section “racial group” means a group of persons defined by reference to race, colour, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins.

About this text

This legislation text comes from legislation.gov.uk. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. These source and reuse terms cover the legislation text, not Remedy's commentary.

Reuse reviewed 21 August 2026 under Open Government Licence v3.0.