Fears over no-show for course to tackle prejudice
spokesman John Finnie MSP said that was “concerning”, and added: “In light of the continued r i se in homophobic and transphobic crimes, I’d urge the Chief Constable to ensure key of f icers receive this important training as a matter of urgency.”
This month, one of Scot l and ’ s bestknown gay bars was targeted by yobs who scrawled homophobic abuse on the front doors.
Images on social media showed how vandals had painted “p***s out ” on the ent rance to The Polo Lounge in Glasgow. When Pol ice Scot l and announced its partnership with the Equality Network, it said officers would use the training to advise colleagues.
Tim Hopkins, director of the Equality Network, c o n f i rme d : “We still offer a range of training on LGBTI i s sue s to publ ic , voluntary and private sector bodies.”
Chief Inspector Coleen Wylie of Police Scot l and ’ s Sa fer Communities team said: “Police Scotland is fully committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and we continue to train officers and staff to raise awareness about this.
“We also run regular campaigns and work with partners to increase public knowledge of hate crime, to raise awareness of repor ting methods and to influence offender behaviour.
“We believe that hate crime continues to be under-reported and we urge anyone who has been a victim of or witness to such an incident to contact us or third party reporting organisations, details of which can be found on the Police Scotland website.”
A spokeswoman added that the force had used internal training to help off icers spot LGBTI hate crimes.