News
£20 fine for teen in firework assault not sufficient punishment, say Jewish groups
July 19, 2016 09:16
By, Rosa Doherty
1 min read
ByRosa Doherty, Rosa Doherty
Security groups have criticised the Crown Prosecution Service for “sending the wrong message” on antisemitism, after a £20 fine was handed to a teenager who put lit fireworks into the pockets of Jewish pedestrians as they passed him in the street.
The Hackney Youth Offender Panel ordered the 14-year-old boy to pay the fine in compensation and a sentenced him to a year’s referral order.
Moshe Monitz, supervisor at Stamford Hill Shomrim, the volunteer Jewish neighbourhood watch group, said: "The outcome in this case unfortunately sends out a wrong message to victims, a sense of why bother if justice will not be served.
“The CPS and Ministry of Justice should consider the impact that a crime has upon its victim and the message it sends to all victims in general.
“There is so much talk about a zero tolerance approach to hate crime, but it is important that it should not be mere words - it is the action that demonstrates how serious the words are.”
Mark Gardner, of the Community Security Trust, said: “This sounds like it could have been a very serious incident. The sentence certainly sends the wrong message and makes it sound far more trivial than it was.
“But perhaps the youth panel know more than we do about the circumstances surrounding the offender.”
The boy was detained by Shomrim in January and arrested by police.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “A 14-year-old male who was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated common assault has been dealt with by the Hackney Youth Offender Panel.
“Police had been called at around 08:00 on Sunday, 31st January to Dunsmure Road N16 to reports of a youth assaulting members of the Jewish community.
“He was referred to the Hackney Youth Offender Panel for the above offence. A contract was issued having effect for an extended compliance period of two months and a total contract period 12 months.
“Also compensation of £20.00 is to be paid.”
A CPS spokesperson said: “The CPS is not responsible for sentencing, this is down to judges or magistrates. One of the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutors for London has written to the Community Security Trust to explain our position in this case so that this can be passed on to the local community. We are committed to working with our community partners to tackle hate crime.”
Shomrim urged the community to continue to report crime to them and the police and not to be discouraged by the sentence.