Tackling of hate crime should be welcomed by all progressive Scots

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AS the former police and crime commissioner for north Wales I commend the Scottish Government for introducing the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act to protect those with protected characteristics from threatening, abusive, words or behaviour.

The UK Public Order Act was introduced in 1936 to address the activities of the British Union of Fascists and extended in 1986 to address racially aggravated public order offences. It is well known that intolerance and a lack of compassion towards vulnerable people is on the increase, and it is the role of government to respond to reports of prejudice and bigotry and to legislate if that is deemed necessary, which it clearly was.

The threshold for committing offences under this act is high and therefore the argument that the act will stifle free speech is null and void. Freedom of speech does not extend to a right to say anything one wants, but also allows fair comment on subjects without being threatening or abusive.

I don’t foresee that this act will create the kind of increase in workloads that opponents of the act perceive any more than the predecessor legislation did for my generation of police officers.

This legislation will improve the quality of life of those with protected characteristics and should be welcomed by all tolerant and progressive Scots, and the divisiveness of Rowling and McCoist should be rejected.

Mr Arfon Jones

Former police and crime commissioner for n orth Wales

THERE is a great deal of heat around this issue of hate crime and very little light. Assa Samake-Raman came to Scotland seeking Utopia and blames Scots because such perfection does not exist here (Moral panic-level madness I thought I’d left in France has come to Scotland, Apr 3).

The fact is that in every society there is the good and the bad. This is the nature of humanity and to quote the Kris Kristofferson song Jesus Was a Capricorn, “everybody’s gotta have somebody to look down on”.

It is a sad reflection on society that this has always been the case. Will the passing of laws really make a difference? Well I think not.

After all, it became illegal to discriminate on the basis of race in 1967 but it clearly has not stopped, just gone somewhat underground. Rather than passing laws it would be better, through education and the media, to encourage people to think less of “me” or “I” and begin to think of “we” and “us”. Instead of thinking “you are making my life hard”, it should be “what can I do to make life better for you?”

Or, as the late US president Kennedy said: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”.

Our society has become very selfish: “it is my right!” or “why should I do that for you?” or “what’s in it for me?” This can never lead to a peaceful society. I am now almost 81 years of age. I will not pretend everything in the past was good, because it certainly was not. Prejudice was rife. Having said that, there was a greater sense of community when I was young and this made it possible for people to forget their prejudices when faced with goodness and kindness.

Let us seek a better society by thinking about one another and less about ourselves.

Angus Shaw via email