Law Commission rejects new hate crime offences, urges fixes to sentencing approach

The Law Commission's final report, published 22 July 2026, recommends against creating standalone hate crime offences, finding offenders would be unlikely to be consistently charged with or convicted of them. Instead, it says giving longer sentences for hate-motivated crimes remains the most appropriate model and the existing framework should be improved. The 12 recommendations target the Sentencing Act and Criminal Procedure Act.