JERSEY has been ‘waiting for a hate-crime law for five years’, according to an equality and diversity champion, who has called for legislation to be brought into line with the UK following a homophobic attack in town.
Liberate Jersey chief executive Vic Tanner Davy made the comments following the sentencing of Marcin Skalimowski, who punched a man in St James Wine Bar.
After being ejected from the premises, Skalimowski returned to the bar with a deactivated AK-47 assault rifle and bayonet and had to be wrestled to the ground by door staff.
During sentencing in the Royal Court, the Bailiff, Sir Timothy Le Cocq, said the crime contained ‘a significant element of homophobia’.
In England and Wales, an offence can be prosecuted as a hate crime if the offender has demonstrated hostility, or been motivated by hostility, based on race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and/or transgender identity. This categorisation can lead to higher sentences.
There are no such offences in Jersey, and defendants are therefore charged with assault.
Police in the UK have reported a 41% increase in hate crimes in the last two years, but Mr Tanner Davy said there was no way of telling whether hate crimes were on the rise in the Island because they are not included in current legislation.
Mr Tanner Davy said: ‘For example, if someone sprayed a Nazi swastika on the wall of a synagogue, police in the UK would log it as a hate crime. In Jersey it could only be recorded as graffiti.
‘We have been waiting for a hate crime law for five years.’
Mr Tanner Davy said Jersey’s legislation needed to be brought in line with the UK.
Reported crime figures do not always give a true reflection of crime levels, according to Mr Tanner Davy, who believes that many incidents still go unreported because of a reluctance to involve the authorities.
He added: ‘It’s very different now, but historically the police and the LGBT+ community have not been easy friends, as some people of my generation remember.
‘It’s a different picture now, but some of the old feelings of distrust are still there.’
Recent years have brought improvements – but also new ways of victimising people, he said.
‘Incidents of face-to-face, physical violence are rare but we are experiencing more online abuse, nasty posts and comments.
‘There is a feeling that some people are still not being accepted. Resentment is bubbling out there.’
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Justice and Home Affairs Department said: ‘The government is developing a Draft Crime (Prejudice) Law which will provide for “hate crime” or equivalent legislation in Jersey to meet international norms. This work will form part of the Minister for Home Affairs’ Ministerial Plan for 2024.’
