Hate Crime

Justice Secretary Angela Constance has responded to publication by Police Scotland of data in relation to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which commenced on 1 April 2024. The figures show a continued decline in reports of hate crimes made to the police since the introduction of

Justice Secretary Angela Constance has said that the spike in hate crime reports in the first week of new legislation coming into force shows "how vital tackling hate crime is", despite the fact that only 3.5 per cent of reports had been recorded. Police Scotland has received 7,152 online hate

Victims minister Siobhian Brown has been asked to stop misrepresenting the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which came into force this week. For Women Scotland and Murray Blackburn Mackenzie have called on Ms Brown to get the law right and to stop making incorrect statements abo

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act will be activated – on April 1. The law creates new stirring up of hatred offences for protected characteristics including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.

The Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain KC, has pledged to continue the robust prosecution of hate crime, after new figures showed a small fall in charges reported. The annual report on Hate Crime in Scotland, published today, shows a decrease of two per cent in the total number of charges reported to COPFS

The Law Commission of England and Wales has announced recommendations to reform hate crime legislation to ensure that disabled and LGBT+ victims receive the same protections as victims with other protected characteristics. The commission is also making a number of recommendations to protect women an

The total number of charges reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) containing at least one element of hate crime rose to 5,525 in 2020-21, four per cent more than 2019-20, new figures show. A report entitled Hate Crime in Scotland 2020-21 published today brings together f

A £500,000 fund will help places of worship to take security measures against hate crime. Faith communities can apply for grants from the Hate Crime Security Fund, developed by the Scottish government in partnership with Police Scotland.

Critics have warned that the hate crime legislation passed yesterday at Holyrood will result in vexatious and malicious complaints. MSPs passed the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill by 82 votes to 32.

A new report into the extent of hate crimes committed in Scotland has highlighted that almost two-thirds of all race-related hate offences had a visible minority ethnic (non-white) victim, a group that makes up around four per cent of the population. The study, which looked at the characteristics of

A new film raises concerns over the Scottish government's Hate Crime Bill. In Humza's Bummer, author Ian Mitchell takes a look at the professional background of Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and his qualifications for undertaking major law reform as well as the way the bill reflects Soviet att

A series of recommendations to the Hate Crime Bill made by Holyrood's Justice Committee have been accepted by the Scottish government ahead of its stage 1 debate. These include:

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has said it will support the general principles of the Hate Crime Bill on the condition it is amended in line with recommendations the committee is unanimously making.  These recommendations go further than the commitments already made by the Ju

Legal experts have highlighted their concerns with the Scottish government’s controversial Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. Senior representatives of the Faculty of Advocates, the Law Society of Scotland, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, as well as Police Scotla

A climbdown by the Scottish government on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill has been confirmed by Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf. The 'stirring up' offence in the bill has now been limited to situations where 'intent' is present. The bill previously stated that an offence would al