Scottish police “cannot cope” with deluge of hate crime reports; over 7,000 reports in first week

Police in Scotland are struggling to cope with a deluge of “politicised” hate crime reports, just a week after new hate crime legislation went into effect.

Police Scotland are said to be overwhelmed with reports of hate crimes, while investigating every claim risks “overwhelming” officers, with roughly 8,000 reports received in the first week of the legislation.

In an update posted on Wednesday, Police Scotland confirmed data showed there have been 7,152 online hate reports received between 1 April and 7 April.

During this period 240 hate crimes and 30 non-crime hate incidents recorded, the force said.

We have issued data relating to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021.

Data shows there were 7152 online hate reports received 1 April to 7 April. During this period 240 hate crimes and 30 non-crime hate incidents recorded.

View the data: https://t.co/PROiKMRkJw pic.twitter.com/L6i3Pj7yb8

— Police Scotland (@PoliceScotland) April 10, 2024

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act (2021) introduces new offences for threatening or abusive behaviour intended to stir up hatred based on protected characteristics including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics. The provisions add to the country’s existing offence of “stirring up racial hatred,” which has been in place across the UK since 1986.

Last year, ahead of the law’s enforcement, Police Scotland had revealed a public awareness advertising campaign, featuring the ‘Hate Monster,’ which warned about the dangers of hate crime in Scotland. The controversial campaign recently resurfaced following the introduction of the law.

The act necessitates the chief constable of Police Scotland to produce an annual report laying out the details of each recorded offence, including the sex, age, ethic or national origin of any individual re order as a victim.

The new laws were developed following Lord Bracadale’s Independent Review of Hate Crime Legislation, which reached the conclusion that new specific offences relating to stirring up hatred were “needed.” The legislation was passed by a majority of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament in 2021, but only took effect on 1 April.

The controversial law has drawn criticism from one of Scotland’s most senior legal figures, who has called for the SNP hate crime law to be withdrawn. Lord Hope of Craighead has said that the title and wording of the contentious law has been “misunderstood” by the public, telling The Times newspaper that the legislation is “unworkable,” while accusing the politicians who supported it of indulging in what he called “gesture politics.”

Lord Hope, 85, who served as the most senior judge in Scotland as lord justice general, and later as deputy president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, said that “Hate crime” was “a most unfortunate name” for the bill, adding that “it raises all sorts of thoughts in people’s minds, without any idea of what the bill is actually saying.”

Hope said that the Bill has “misfired” as it uses a “very provocative title” that makes people think “there’s more in it than there really is.”

He said that by suggesting all forms of hatred had been criminalised, the law had encouraged a flood of complaints which cannot actually be dealt with under the act. Lord Hope also said that section 15 of the act, which sets out the type of evidence police must investigate after a complaint is made, placed an “extraordinary burden” on officers.

“I think it’s unworkable if the police are going to have to administer this, because they have the burden of sifting and recording a myriad of complaints by people who are not really aware of the details of the legislation.”

“It’s an extraordinary position.” the senior figure added, saying: “I’ve not seen anything like this before, and it’s no wonder the police are being deluged in trying to carry it out.”

Scotland’s first minister Humza Yousaf has been a strong backer of the bill amidst heavy widespread criticism, saying that opponents of the act are guilty of spreading misinformation. Speaking on BBC News this week, Yousaf responded to criticism of the legislation, as he hit out at “the far-right.”

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf reacts to the information that the police have received hundreds of complaints against him in the first days after his draconic hate speech law came into force

He says that all the critics of the law are racist

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/29oX2Gzvca

— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) April 9, 2024

However, David Threadgold, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, has added his voice to those critical of the legislation, warning that people are using the law for “political point scoring.”

Threadgold said that the scale of calls to police since the act became law was “simply unmanageable.”

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 in recent days, Threadgold said: “Police Scotland have gone public and said that on every occasion, reports of hate crimes will be investigated. That creates a situation where we simply cannot cope with demand at the moment.”

“We’ve not given them the opportunities to ask the ‘what if’ questions during the training that has been provided by Police Scotland to interpret this legislation to the satisfaction of the public,” he said.

He added: “Vexatious complaints, people who look to weaponise this legislation or who make these complaints for personal gain or political point scoring … creates a problem for the police which can affect public satisfaction in my organisation.”