Hate Crime Act must be reconsidered after spurious complaints eventually die down – Scotsman comment

Under-pressure police cannot be expected to sift through vast numbers of complaints that lead nowhere forever

Given the controversy over the introduction of the Hate Crime Act and the mishandling of its launch, it's unsurprising that 49 per cent of respondents to a new survey thought it should be repealed, while only 36 per cent believed it should stay. While it is highly unlikely any government would abandon a policy at such an early date – the Act only came into force on April 1 – there is clearly a need for a timely review of its effects.

As of May 5, Police Scotland had received nearly 10,000 hate crime reports, with 1,062 of those classed as hate crimes by officers, a number that is likely to fall when the law, which has been criticised by lawyers for its loose and even contradictory framing, is tested in court.

Police Scotland launched a publicity campaign encouraging people to report hate crime incidents to them, with predictable results (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

The Act’s vagueness and an ill-advised police publicity campaign have both contributed to the vast number of spurious reports. Some people appear to believe that wasting police time is a way to make a political point, while others seem to have genuinely thought they could use the law to shut down perfectly reasonable political debate.

Wasting police time

However, it is likely that things will – eventually – settle down and it should be at this point that a review of the law’s real-world impact is carried out. The Scottish Police Federation has warned of officers being “overwhelmed” by complaints, the vast majority of which do not lead to any further action. If that situation continues, then changes to the law – up to and including its repeal – should be considered.

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At a time when Police Scotland has announced it will no longer investigate some ‘minor’ crimes, it hardly makes sense to add to their workload unless the benefits are clear. Politicians seeking to avoid a U-turn might decide to simply allow the police to gradually add such complaints to the 'minor' crimes they no longer investigate.

However, passing laws that are then not enforced is a colossal waste of everyone’s time and energy. And, wasting police time, when last we checked, remains one of the criminal offences that is still enforced.