Police Scotland won't record names of those accused of non-crime hate incidents

Police Scotland has updated its guidance for officers so that they do not record names of those accused of non-crime hate incidents.

New guidelines from the force outline how officers will report and respond to hate incidents after the introduction of Scotland’s Hate Crime Act on April 1.

Police confirmed those accused of hate incidents deemed to be non-criminal will not routinely be recorded.

A non-crime hate incident is recorded when an incident does not meet the threshold for a crime but is perceived to be “motivated (wholly or partly) by malice and ill-will towards a social group”, according to Police Scotland guidance.

The force said the new guidance makes clear Police Scotland’s approach to behaviour motivated by hate is “rooted in the principles of integrity, fairness and respect”.

It comes after Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser threatened to take the force to court over a recorded “hate incident” against him.

Fraser complained to police when he learned a social media post of his criticising the Scottish Government’s stance on non-binary people had been reported.

With the support of ⁦@SpeechUnion⁩ I am challenging ⁦@PoliceScotland⁩ policy in recording ‘hate incidents’ as unlawful. Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/0MAMq28jeY
— Murdo Fraser (@murdo_fraser) March 25, 2024

Fraser said it was “outrageous” that officers had kept a recording of a hate claim about him despite concluding that he did not commit a crime.

Police said his personal details were not recorded in relation to a non-crime hate incident logged against him.

It came after officers received hate crime allegations against former First Minster Humza Yousaf and Harry Potter author JK Rowling following new legislation.

Rowling was investigated after social media posts describing transgender women as men and criticising the Scottish Government were determined not to be criminal.

Yousaf was investigated for comments he made at Holyrood four years ago pointing out the lack of non-white people in the top jobs across Scotland.

There were questions over whether the statements from both would be logged as a non-crime hate incidents.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said neither of them would.

The force said the new guidance provides additional “clarity, direction and consistency” to their response to reports of hate, including hate crime and non-crime hate incidents

The force said more than 91% of it’s officers have completed training on the new guidance through a series of in-person and online workshops.

Police Scotland has also trained around 80 new hate crime advisers, as well as 450 hate crime champions to support officers.

Deputy chief constable Alan Speirs said: “Police Scotland is a rights-based organisation, and officers balance the protections people have under human rights legislation against other laws every day, using their discretion and good sense.

“To support implementation of the new hate crime legislation, Police Scotland developed and delivered a programme of training to support our officers, including an e-learning module which has been completed by more than 91% of officers, as well as a series of in-person and online workshops.

“We’ve trained a cadre of around 80 hate crime advisors and 450 hate crime champions to support colleagues while Contact, Command and Control (C3), officers and staff also received tailored training.

“This guidance provides additional clarity, direction, and consistency to our response to reports of hate, including hate crime and non-crime hate incidents and aligns closely with the College of Policing guidance.”