Darlington Football Club would like to announce a partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service against hate crime.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) works closely with football clubs at all levels to help them to stamp out hateful conduct committed by a small minority of fans.

Those convicted of racist or homophobic hate crime offences can see themselves facing banning orders as a result of their behaviour, preventing them from attending future matches.

Earlier this year, new legal provisions extended the use of banning orders to include online abuse involving racial or other hateful hostility. Previously football banning orders could only apply to in-person offences.

The additional provisions also provide prosecutors with the means to invite the courts to provide tougher sentences for hate crime, alongside their asking for a sentence uplift because of the aggravated nature of a hate crime.

CPS legal guidance further instructs prosecutors to ask the court for banning orders in all instances where they are available, unless a court considers that there are particular circumstances relating to the offence or to the offender which would make it unjust to do so.

Douglas Mackay, of the CPS, said: “Football banning orders are one of the many tools available to the justice system for imposition on offenders who are convicted of crimes related to our national game.

“The newest CPS legal guidance gives prosecutors wider authority to request banning orders from the courts. It is another consequence for those guilty of shameful behaviour.

“Over recent years and months hate crimes relating to sporting events have been on the rise. The recent internal UK Football Policing Unit mid-season report has shown a significant rise in football-related criminality compared to pre-pandemic levels.

“At the CPS, we play a crucial role in tackling these crimes and making our national sport inclusive and safe to watch. There is no place for hate in football. Hate crime can have a profound impact on victims.”

The CPS is currently working with the police, clubs, player bodies and organisations like the Premier League, the English Football League, and the Football Association to explain how these crimes are prosecuted and what information is needed to pass the charging threshold and build strong cases.

Darlington Chief Operating Officer David Johnston said; “We intend to work closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, and educate people that hate crime in whatever form is completely unacceptable.”

For more information, follow this link:

https://www.cps.gov.uk/stories/hatecrime

There'll be a representative of the CPS at our game to chat about race hate awareness and hand out leaflets.