Pushmi-Pullyu - Scotland's Hate Crime Legislation
The Scottish government looks to be on course for another legislative mess with the implementation of its Hate Crime Act which will take effect on April 1 2024 - April Fool's Day of course.
The original bill was passed by Holyrood more than 3 years ago and was piloted through parliament by none other than Humza Yousaf, while acting as SNP justice minister.
But the proposed legislation has attracted lots of criticism - in a letter to Holyrood’s criminal justice committee, Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, the policy analysts, said:“Unless immediate action is taken, this means that officers will be required on the one hand to regard all reports of ‘hate’ as subjectively true on the perception of the complainer, and on the other, to apply what ministers described as a ‘high threshold’, for whether a ‘reasonable person’ would regard the material as ‘threatening or abusive’, and whether it is intended to ‘stir up hate’ under the 2021 Act. This is clearly contradictory, and it is unclear how officers are being guided to manage that tension.”
Now if you ask me this is a farce - because it's facing in two different directions at the same time.
Now if you ask me this is a farce - because it's facing in two different directions at the same time.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/police-scotland-will-log-hate-incidents-even-if-no-crime-is-committed-6mw6hs9hn
Police Scotland will log ‘hate incidents’ even if no crime is committed
New legislation coming into effect on April 1 has been criticised for criminalising freedom of expression
The hate crime legislation will create an offence of stirring up hatred against protected characteristics, including sexual orientation and gender identity - Photo JEFF J MITCHELL/GETTY IMAGES
By Kieran Andrews - The Times
Police will keep a record of “hate incidents” against people even when they do not meet the criminal threshold after controversial new laws come into force in Scotland.
The Scottish government has announced that the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act will take effect from April 1, more than three years after it was passed at Holyrood.
Its passage was one of the most difficult of the SNP’s time in government with the bill heavily criticised throughout the process and Humza Yousaf, then the justice secretary, repeatedly forced to climb down on certain provisions, such as the potential impact on performers.
Current police guidelines mean that even if officers do not believe a crime has been committed when “the victim perceives it to be a hate crime, the circumstances will be recorded as a hate incident (non- crime incident)”. It is understood that these are recorded on the vulnerable persons database.
Despite guidance in England and Wales that complaints should be completely struck from the record if they are deemed “trivial, irrational, or if there is no basis to conclude that an incident was motivated by hostility” being recommended for approval north of the border, a review of how this would work will not take place until the new law is in force.
In a letter to Holyrood’s criminal justice committee, Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, the policy analysts, said: “Unless immediate action is taken, this means that officers will be required on the one hand to regard all reports of ‘hate’ as subjectively true on the perception of the complainer, and on the other, to apply what ministers described as a ‘high threshold’, for whether a ‘reasonable person’ would regard the material as ‘threatening or abusive’, and whether it is intended to ‘stir up hate’ under the 2021 Act. This is clearly contradictory, and it is unclear how officers are being guided to manage that tension.”
Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain, the hate crime prevention lead for Police Scotland, said: “We want everyone targeted by hate crime, or those who witness it, to have confidence to come forward. They can be assured they will be treated with dignity and respect, and that the circumstances they report will be fully investigated.”
Police will keep a record of “hate incidents” against people even when they do not meet the criminal threshold after controversial new laws come into force in Scotland.
The Scottish government has announced that the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act will take effect from April 1, more than three years after it was passed at Holyrood.
Its passage was one of the most difficult of the SNP’s time in government with the bill heavily criticised throughout the process and Humza Yousaf, then the justice secretary, repeatedly forced to climb down on certain provisions, such as the potential impact on performers.
Current police guidelines mean that even if officers do not believe a crime has been committed when “the victim perceives it to be a hate crime, the circumstances will be recorded as a hate incident (non- crime incident)”. It is understood that these are recorded on the vulnerable persons database.
Despite guidance in England and Wales that complaints should be completely struck from the record if they are deemed “trivial, irrational, or if there is no basis to conclude that an incident was motivated by hostility” being recommended for approval north of the border, a review of how this would work will not take place until the new law is in force.
In a letter to Holyrood’s criminal justice committee, Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, the policy analysts, said: “Unless immediate action is taken, this means that officers will be required on the one hand to regard all reports of ‘hate’ as subjectively true on the perception of the complainer, and on the other, to apply what ministers described as a ‘high threshold’, for whether a ‘reasonable person’ would regard the material as ‘threatening or abusive’, and whether it is intended to ‘stir up hate’ under the 2021 Act. This is clearly contradictory, and it is unclear how officers are being guided to manage that tension.”
Chief Superintendent Faroque Hussain, the hate crime prevention lead for Police Scotland, said: “We want everyone targeted by hate crime, or those who witness it, to have confidence to come forward. They can be assured they will be treated with dignity and respect, and that the circumstances they report will be fully investigated.”
Humza Yousaf, when justice secretary, was forced into a number of climbdowns on the legislation, which was passed three years ago but is only just coming into force - Photo ANDREW COWAN/SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT/PA WIRE
The Scottish government has previously been criticised for failing to appreciate the knock-on effect of controversial laws it enacts, including plans to give every child a “named person” which was torpedoed by the Supreme Court, and the offensive behaviour at football act, which was repealed by Holyrood six years after being passed.
The hate crime legislation will create a new offence of stirring up hatred against protected characteristics, including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, matching a similar offence based on race that has been on the statute book for decades.
Some concerns remain over the potential criminalisation of free expression.
In the final debate before its passage, Yousaf, now first minister, said no one would be found to have stirred up hatred “for solely stating their belief, even if they did so in a robust manner”.
The announcement that the law will finally come into force comes just days after the police announced that they would no longer investigate every crime to save on officer time.
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservatives justice spokesman, said: “Scotland’s police officers have been pushed to breaking point by relentless SNP cuts, so expecting them to enforce this flawed legislation should not be a priority.”
Figures released by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service last year showed a 2 per cent drop in hate crimes in Scotland in 2022-23.
Before the legislation takes effect, the Scottish government has launched a public awareness campaign aimed at highlighting the impact of hate crime.
Siobhian Brown, the community safety minister, said: “While we respect everyone’s right to freedom of expression, nobody in our society should live in fear or be made to feel like they don’t belong, and the Scottish government is committed to building safer communities that live free from hatred and prejudice.”
She said that the new law would give “greater protections to those who need it and helps to form the basis of understanding about the type of behaviour that is not acceptable in our society”.
