Hate Crime legislation

Published on: 28 September 2026

Question type: Written

Asked by: Louise Doublet

Reference: WQ.174/2026

Answered by: Minister for Justice and Home Affairs

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WQ.174/2026

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND HOME AFFAIRS

BY DEPUTY L.M.C. DOUBLET OF ST. SAVIOUR

QUESTION SUBMITTED ON MONDAY 21st SEPTEMBER 2026 ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON MONDAY 28th SEPTEMBER 2026

Question

"Will the Minister provide a detailed timeline of the actions required to bring forward Hate Crime legislation to the Assembly, including all expected timescales and budget requirements?"

Answer

I am committed to bringing forward hate crime legislation that is fit for purpose and appropriate for Jersey.

To ensure any proposals are evidence based and reflect the needs of the Island, I intend to consult with the public, victims, community organisations, criminal justice agencies and other stakeholders. The consultation will consider whether specific hate crime legislation is indeed required, which characteristics should be protected, and whether any measures would be proportionate and workable in Jersey.

Preparatory work is well advanced, and I expect the consultation to be launched in October 2026. It will remain open for 12 weeks, after which responses will be analysed and published.

Policy work on creating law drafting instructions will then begin and provision has already been requested within the legislative drafting programme for law drafting time.

While it is not possible to provide precise drafting timescales at this stage, my intention is to progress this work as quickly as possible and bring draft legislation to the States Assembly before the end of 2027.

Provisional timetable

• October 2026: Consultation launched

• January 2027: Consultation closes and responses analysed

• 2027: Policy development and law drafting

• By end 2027: Draft legislation lodged for States Assembly consideration

At present, approximate budget requirements are as follows:

• Translating the consultation to Portuguese and Polish £285 and thereafter unknown costs associated with translating the responses.

• Additional licence for Smart Survey £344 pro rata for the year.

• No further costs have been identified beyond existing departmental resources and legislative

drafting provision.