Criminals who target gay victims have been warned they will be punished heavily, as part of a tough new initiative.

The Crown Prosecution Service made the declaration as part of its first public policy statement on homophobic crime saying it was "based on prejudice, discrimination and hate".

The tough line is aimed at boosting public confidence in the criminal justice system and encouraging more victims of homophobic crime to come forward.

Many gay victims fail to report incidents

Figures from a 1999 survey showed 38% of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) community suffered at least one homophobic incident in the previous 12 months.

Of those, just 18% said they actually reported the incidents to the police, the National Advisory Group study found.

Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, said: "Homophobic crimes strike at people's right to feel safe and secure, and to abuse or attack someone because of their sexual orientation and gender identity is a hate crime which cannot be tolerated.

"The CPS is sending a clear message to those who commit such crimes that they will be dealt with firmly under criminal law."

Step forward

In its statement, the CPS defines cases with a homophobic element as "any incident which is perceived to be homophobic or transphobic by the victim or any other person".

The approach is based on the current definition of a racial incident, as recommended by the inquiry into the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Roger Daw, chairman of the working group on homophobic crime and chief crown prosecutor for Hampshire, said: "Incidents that are reported as homophobic won't necessarily go on to allow evidence to go before the court as homophobic.

"Simply stating that someone perceives this to be a homophobic crime may not be sufficient but we will ask police to investigate the matter further."

Sacha Deshmukh, director of parliamentary affairs at gay rights pressure group Stonewall, said: "Our surveys have found that over half of the lesbian, gay and bisexual community have been victims of homophobic crimes, but that only a tiny minority of these crimes are reported.

"We welcome this new CPS initiative and their determination to stamp out crime based on prejudice, discrimination and hate."

Stephen Warwick, of the Gay Police Association, said the new initiative represented a huge step forward for gay men, women and bisexuals.

He said: "The CPS is now obliged to tackle head-on incidents of homophobic crime, wherever they occur."