Note added 10 April 2022 This blog provides a detailed discussion of police recording practices in Scotland in relation to "non-crime hate incidents". It was originally published on 29 January 2022, taking as its starting point an article published in…
Read More ‘Hate incidents’ and freedom of expression (updated 10 April 2022)
This submission can also be downloaded here Introduction During the passage of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, we wrote extensively on the proposed legislation and provided both written and oral evidence to the Scottish Parliament. Our…
This briefing can also be accessed here Introduction This briefing was prepared for the Stage 1 debate on the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill. The briefing focuses on two areas: the exclusion of sex from the hate crime…
This blog can be accessed as a briefing here Background On 29 November 2020 we submitted supplementary evidence to the Justice Committee in the light of (a) an open letter currently circulating which has been signed by a number of…
This blog may be downloaded as a briefing here 1. Background Discussing the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill at the Justice Committee on 24 November, the Cabinet Secretary Humza Yousaf argued that he did not think a person would…
Read More The ‘ordinary meaning’ of words: a reassurance that does not reassure (November 2020)
This blog can be downloaded as a briefing here Background The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee began consideration of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill at Stage 1 on Tuesday 27 October, and took evidence from Cabinet Secretary for Justice. This…
Read More Stage 1 questions for the Cabinet Secretary for Justice (October 2020)
This briefing looks at some of the issues raised in the submissions from Police Scotland, Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS) and the Scottish Police Federation, namely those organisations who will be tasked with upholding the new law. Broadly supportive in some places and fiercely critical in others, the submissions capture the complexities that underlie the hate crime agenda, issues around public trust and police legitimacy, as well as more practical workload considerations and the costs of training 17,000 officers in what is emerging as a charged and contested area of law.
The Hate Crime and Public Order Bill is intended to provide for the modernising, consolidating and extending of hate crime legislation in Scotland. Since publication in April 2020, the draft Bill has attracted a range of critical responses, including the Law Society…
Submission by MurrayBlackburnMackenzie Introduction We welcome the opportunity to submit evidence to the Committee and apologise for not having identified the need to do so sooner. The annex provides a note about who we are and how we are funded.…
Read More Evidence to the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee (24 August 2020)
Today MSPs are likely to pass into law one of the most contentious pieces of legislation considered in the lifetime of the Scottish Parliament. Last May, we wrote of our surprise that such controversial proposals – which did not feature…
Read More MBM statement on the Hate Crime and Public Order Bill (March 2021)
