Hate crime battle goes viral

Short videos made by students are to be used by the city council to battle hate crime through an online campaign.

More than 1100 incidents of abuse were reported in Edinburgh between January and September last year, with the majority of victims being men aged between 25 and 34.

Working with students from Stevenson College, who created short videos, the city council will distribute a link by e-mail and invite recipients to post it on social media sites and pass it on for more people to watch.

Community safety leader Councillor Cammy Day said: “Edinburgh is a diverse and thriving city that does not tolerate hate crime, but sadly there is a small minority who make people’s lives a misery.”

The interactive clip allows viewers to see how the audience reacts when a comedian makes a joke about gender, age and sexual preference.

Chief Inspector Paula Clark, of Lothian and Borders Police, said: “The impact that this type of behaviour can have can be significant.”