Only 4pc of hate complaints in Scotland are actual crimes

Statistics released as a former Supreme Court judge delivers a stinging verdict on the law’s effect

FEWER than 4 per cent of complaints made under Scotland’s new hate crime laws were actually crimes, police have said.

In the first official statistics published since the law came into force, Police Scotland said that it had received 7,152 online hate reports between April 1 and April 7. However, it said that during the period, just 240 actual hate crimes, around 3.5 per cent of the reports made, had been recorded with a further 30 classed as “non crime hate incidents”.

Angela Constance, the SNP justice secretary, claimed the fact that well over 200 hate crimes had been reported showed the necessity of the new laws.

However, only eight were deemed to be offences under new offences of “stirring up hatred” against newly protected groups, with the remainder relating to “aggravators” for other crimes, suggesting the vast majority could have been dealt with under existing laws.

The figures were published as the SNP faced a stinging rebuke from a former deputy president of the Supreme Court and one of the most eminent legal figures in Scotland over the legislation.

Lord Hope of Craighead, previously

Scotland’s most senior judge, accused ministers of engaging in “gesture politics” leading to the legislation being widely misunderstood.

Police Scotland said the vast majority of hate crime complaints had been made anonymously and then dismissed, bolstering claims that members of the public have used the law to make vexatious complaints or due to personal or political vendettas.

Being forced to sift through a “myriad of complaints” from people ignorant of the details of the law, and then meet strict obligations over recording the offences, would render the law “unworkable”, Lord Hope claimed.

“It’s an extraordinary position,” he told The Times. “I’ve not seen anything like this before, and it’s no wonder the police are being deluged in trying to carry it out. I have no complaint with the intention of the bill.

“But it has misfired because it uses a very provocative title that leads people to think there’s more in it than there really is, when you read through the detail.”

There were only 99 hate crimes recorded in Scotland over the previous year and 125 in the year before that, meaning more than two years worth of hate crime offences were recorded within a week.

Of the reports deemed to be a crime, transgender people were recorded as victims in only eight cases, suggesting complaints over “misgendering” have been widely disregarded.

JK Rowling, the author, tested the new laws on the first day they went live by publicly calling a series of high-profile trans women men, and challenging police to arrest her. They declined to do so, saying she had not committed an offence.

Ms Constance said: “It is important when we look at the number of hate crimes recorded – 240 – by Police Scotland in one week alone, I think that demonstrates that this legislation is required and needed to protect marginalised and vulnerable communities most at risk of racial hatred and prejudice.”

Concerns had been raised ahead of the legislation being enforced of both the impact on free speech and the readiness of officers to deal with it.

According to the data, one in five officers are yet to complete the twohour training course on the application of the legislation.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said the number of reports amounted to a “significant demand” but that this “continues to be managed within our contact centres”.

He added: “So far, the impact on frontline policing, our ability to answer calls and respond to those who need our help in communities across Scotland has been minimal.”

Meanwhile, the Scottish Tories have attempted to seize on the unpopularity of the new laws, which polls suggest only 20 per cent of Scots support, to bolster their general election campaign.

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, is to claim that the election offers voters a chance to “reject” the controversial hate crime laws.

“The Hate Crime Act is draining police resources at a time when they

‘I’ve not seen anything like this before, and it’s no wonder the police are being deluged’

can least afford it and undermining Scotland’s reputation on free speech,” he said.

“The public are increasingly turning against Humza Yousaf ’s illiberal and damaging Act. The only winners are the perpetrators of real crimes that the police no longer have the manpower to investigate.

“This is entirely a problem of Humza Yousaf ’s making. He needs to accept that his Hate Crime Act is not fit for purpose and scrap it immediately.”