Update

Overview
Hate Crime is a term used to describe behaviour which is both criminal and rooted in prejudice. This means that the law has been broken, and the offender’s actions have been driven by hatred towards a particular group. Hate crime has a hugely damaging and corrosive impact on victims, their families and communities.

The recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents dates back to recommendations in the 1999 Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report and began in Scotland in 2004 and in England and Wales in 2005. The collection of data is an important tool in understanding the experiences of hate crime and shaping interventions.

On 1 April 2024, the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 (the Act) came into force. The aim of the Act is to provide greater protection for victims, communities and to tackle the harm caused by hostility and prejudice.

The Act maintains and consolidates protections in law against offences aggravated by prejudice and introduces new offences of ‘stirring up hatred’ which criminalises threatening or abusive behaviour and the communication of threatening or abusive material which is intended to stir up hatred against a group of people by reason of their particular characteristics. The right to freedom of expression is specifically built into the Act.

Police Scotland developed and delivered a programme of training to support our implementation of the new legislation. Interim guidance has been published specifically on the recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents in May 2024. Police Scotland is developing a Policy and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), with consideration sources including recommendations from the HMICS Thematic Inspection on Hate Crime; the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice and Home Office Code of Practice on Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHIs) and the Lord Advocate’s guidelines, published in April 2024

On implementation of the Act, Police Scotland experienced a surge of reporting, the vast majority of which were reported online, anonymously and did not meet the threshold to be classified as either Hate Crimes or Non-Crime Hate Incidents. Additional staffing was put in place and the impact on frontline policing was minimal. Since implementation, Police Scotland has been publishing data on hate crime reporting on a weekly basis.

Key Changes Introduced by the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021:
The definition of a hate crime has not changed as a consequence of the Act. The notable change is that when those crimes are reported, they are libelled slightly differently, using the provisions of the new Act. The offence of “stirring up hatred” is not a new crime, the offence of stirring up of racial hatred has been a criminal offence for many years, under the provisions of the Public Order Act 1986. The offences created under the new Act extend the offence of “stirring up hatred” to other characteristics protected within the legislation.

Expansion of Protected Characteristics:
The Act extends hate crime protections to include age and variations in sex characteristics, bringing the total number of protected characteristics to seven.

Consolidation of Hate Aggravation Laws:
The legislation consolidates various previous Acts into a single provision for hate aggravation, allowing for increased penalties when offences are motivated by hatred or prejudice.

Broadening the Scope of Stirring up Hatred:
The Act criminalises the behaviour of stirring up hatred on the basis of all protected characteristics in both public and private settings, expanding the scope beyond the previously covered characteristic of race only;

• Section 4(1) offence of stirring up racial hatred – a person commits an offence if (a) the person behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening, abusive or insulting, replacing Sections 18-21 Public Order Act 1986

• Section 4(2), a person commits an offence if (a) the person behaves in a manner that a reasonable person would consider to be threatening or abusive, offence of stirring up hatred against a group of persons defined by age; disability; religion; sexual orientation; transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.

Safeguards for Freedom of Expression:
Provisions have been included to protect freedom of expression, under section 9 – which only refers to section 4(2), ensuring that legitimate discourse and artistic expression are not unduly restricted, specifically for stirring up of hatred offences.

Abolition of Blasphemy Laws:
The Act repeals Scotland’s blasphemy laws, thereby aligning legislation with contemporary values surrounding freedom of speech.

Enhanced Data Collection on Hate Crimes:
The legislation promotes improved data collection practices to monitor trends in hate crimes more effectively and allocate resources accordingly.

Delivery of Training by Police Scotland
Police Scotland developed and delivered a programme of training to support our implementation of the new legislation. This includes an e-learning module, which has been completed by more than 90% of officers, as well as a series of in-person and online workshops across Local Policing Divisions.

A cadre of around 80 Hate Crime advisors and 450 Hate Crime champions are in place to support colleagues while Contact, Command and Control (C3), officers and staff also received tailored training.

A dedicated micro-site was created with full guidance, scenarios, FAQs and video instructions on how to raise and record hate crimes via the new Core Operating Solutions national system.

Police Scotland Guidance
Police Scotland has provided guidance for officers and staff on responding to and recording Hate Crimes and Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHIs). Interim guidance was published in May 2024 providing additional clarity, direction, and consistency to our approach, see Appendix A. Police Scotland is drawing on the lived experience of the new legislation in the development of a Policy and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), with consideration of several key sources:

• Recommendations from the HMICS Thematic Inspection on Hate Crime
• The College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice and Home Office Code of Practice on NCHI

• The Lord Advocate’s guidelines, published in April 2024

Non-Crime Hate Incidents
The Macpherson Report in 1999, which was a result of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, recommended that all police services, including those in Scotland, should apply perception-based recording of NCHIs.

As a result of the Miller v College of Policing case, College of Policing updated their guidance in 2023. While cognisant of differences including legislation, our aim is to align as closely as possible with the new College of Policing guidance. As such the Interim guidance that was published in May 2024 also specifically addresses NCHIs.

The guidance outlines a reasonable person and policing purpose test for the recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents and provides direction that the details of the other party of a report will not be routinely recorded as part of a Non-Crime Hate Incident.

The data presented in Appendix B, shows that 1.3% of reported incidents have been recorded as NCHIs since implementation of the Act.

ASSESSING INITIAL IMPACT AND IMPLEMENTATION
Following the introduction of the legislation the demands on Police Scotland have been considerable with a significant volume of online hate reports, amongst general reporting. Since the introduction of legislation, the following were recorded:

• 9,705 online reports
• 1,301 Hate Crimes reported
• 147 No Crime Hate Incidents

Despite the online surge, the impact on frontline policing has been minimised, the demand being effectively absorbed within C3 with additional national EDI team support. This was achieved by enhancing staffing levels, ensuring that the division’s ability to answer and respond to 101 and 999 calls was not compromised.

The overwhelming majority of the online complaints were submitted anonymously and, upon assessment, did not meet the threshold to be classified as either Hate Crimes or NCHIs.

Over the last 5 years NCHIs have increased year on year, there is a 1.3% decrease YTD since last year, however this is a small data set between 1 April and 12 May. This may also be due to the reasonable test now being applied.

Hate Crimes have followed a similar pattern with a decrease in 2020/2021 which may be attributed to COVID, and again a decrease in 2023/2024. There has been an 80% increase YTD since last year. This increase may be due to increased trust and confidence.

Reported Hate Crime since the implementation of the legislation follows trends of previous years with race, sexual orientation and disability being most affected. Geographically Glasgow followed by Edinburgh have seen the most reports, in keeping with demographics and population.

A Gold Command Structure, overseen by DCC Speirs, was established and remains in place. Ensuring that any emerging issues are quickly escalated and appropriately addressed.

Since the introduction of the legislation Police Scotland have published data on a weekly basis.

CONCLUSION
The introduction of the new Act has had minimal impact on front line policing. Officers were well supported through a comprehensive training programme with advisors on hand to assist.

Interim guidance on Police Scotland’s Response to Hate has been published, which also specifically addresses NCHIs.

The forthcoming Policy and the new Standard Operating Procedure not only adhere to Police Scotland's values and code of ethics but also reflects the legislative changes outlined within Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, and the latest College of Policing guidelines. Consultation on the Policy and Standard Operating Procedure is due to commence late summer 2024.

Our approach demonstrates that Police Scotland is committed to ensuring that public trust and confidence are not only maintained but significantly enhanced.