SNP hate crime law ‘threatens trust in police’
Senior officers fear force could be caught in the middle as people try to score points off rivals
SCOTLAND’S new hate crime law could damage public trust in police, senior officers have warned ahead of it coming into force today. Rob Hay, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS), warned of a surge of reports of hate crimes, driven by people wishing to score points against their opponents on social media.
He said officers would be caught in the middle, with those accused of hate crimes feeling “aggrieved” if their details are kept by police, even if there is no prosecution.
Similarly, he said public trust in the force could be damaged among those lodging complaints of hate crimes if officers concluded the legal threshold for a prosecution had not been reached.
The ASPS has warned that an “activist fringe” would seek to “weaponise” the legislation. Police Scotland has pledged to investigate every complaint.
Mr Hay also said a deluge of complaints would make it harder to “focus on those crimes and offences that cause the most harm and represent the highest risk to public safety.”
Humza Yousaf oversaw the passage of the legislation at Holyrood in 2021 when he was Justice Secretary in Nicola Sturgeon’s government. However, it did not come into force until today as Police Scotland said it needed time for training.
The Hate and Public Order (Scotland) Act creates a criminal offence for threatening or abusive behaviour that “stirs up hatred”, expanding on a similar offence based on racist abuse that has been on the statute book for decades.
Offences are considered “aggravated”, meaning they could lead to stiffer sentences, if they involve prejudice based on age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.
However, concerns have been expressed that the legislation’s definition of a hate crime is too ambiguous, potentially leading to a “chilling” effect on freedom of speech and a torrent of vexatious complaints.
In particular, JK Rowling’s allies have suggested that trans activists have her “in their sights”. The author has regularly argued that trans women are not women and last week vowed to continue “calling a man a man” after this “ludicrous law” comes into force.
Meanwhile, Sarah Phillimore, a child protection lawyer and advocate of women’s sex-based rights in England, said the law could be used against people in England. The barrister, who has offices in London and Bristol, argued comments posted on social media elsewhere could still be the subject of complaints to Police Scotland, if they could be read north of the Border.