Scotland’s communities deserve to know that they have a government on their side and that the law is there to protect them when needed.
Having laws that protect against a rising tide of prejudice and hate is important. But the fact is that the SNP’s catastrophic incompetence in implementing the Hate Crime bill has weakened the cause of social justice.
Lord Bracadale’s review of Scotland's hate crime legislation was vital.
I know, I have been the victim of and have witnessed hate crime myself. That’s why Scottish Labour supported hate crime legislation.
But what we have seen the last two weeks has not been what the Scottish Parliament voted for – it has been a mess entirely of the SNP’s making.
To understand the issue we need to look at the legislation, the communication and the implementation - which has been a disaster.
By voting down Scottish Labour’s attempt to include sex as an aggravating factor, the SNP failed the women of Scotland - this must be urgently corrected.
Concerns remain over the impact that the recording of non-criminal hate incidents will have on human rights - this must be urgently reviewed.
When it comes to the communication of this new act, the SNP’s incompetence has only added to the confusion.
SNP government ministers have taken to the airwaves to contradict themselves again and again – tying the messaging up in knots and undermining public confidence and trust.
And as Police Scotland warn the SNP government that they are under-resourced, the SNP decided to blow £1000s on an advertising campaign without clearly explaining what the legislation actually means and what it is intended will do.
But instead of acting to fix the mess the SNP has buried its head in the sand – refusing to admit that anything is wrong and allowing conspiracy and misinformation to run wild.
When it comes to the implementation of this policy, our police officers have been left high and dry.
The offer of a mere two hours of online training for officers on this act is farcical.
Scotland’s police officers are being inundated with thousands of hate crime reports due to the lack of clear government guidance.
Our police officers are already overworked and under resourced.
So while the SNP is adding this pressure, they are overseeing cuts to police numbers, police station closures and officers being told not to investigate certain crimes, including burglaries and thefts.
This is chaos.Yet again, well-intentioned legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament has been dashed on the rocks of SNP incompetence and arrogance.
The fact is that this is an SNP government that is detached from reality and wants to govern by soundbite and virtue signalling.
Scotland deserves better. Scotland’s communities deserve hate crime legislation that does what it is supposed to do – to keep them safe.
That’s why – while the SNP and the Tories kick off another culture war – Scottish Labour is laying out what needs to happen to fix this mess.
What we need now is a proper communication strategy from the Scottish Government to lay out exactly what this bill is and what it is not – no ‘Hate Monsters’, just the facts.
We need the government to finally listen to Scottish Labour and use its powers to include sex as an aggravating factor for hate crime.
And we need to make sure that the reporting of non-crime hate incidents is properly compliant with human rights law.
Scotland deserves better than culture wars, SNP incompetence and Tory cynicism.
That’s why Scottish Labour stands ready to deliver the change that Scotland needs.
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Scotland's hate crime laws have been sunk by SNP incompetence and arrogance
7
1
17.04.2024
Scotland’s communities deserve to know that they have a government on their side and that the law is there to protect them when needed.
Having laws that protect against a rising tide of prejudice and hate is important. But the fact is that the SNP’s catastrophic incompetence in implementing the Hate Crime bill has weakened the cause of social justice.
Lord Bracadale’s review of Scotland's hate crime legislation was vital.
I know, I have been the victim of and have witnessed hate crime myself. That’s why Scottish Labour supported hate crime legislation.
But what we have seen the last two weeks has not been what the Scottish Parliament voted for – it has been a mess entirely of the SNP’s making.
To understand the issue we need to look at the legislation, the communication and the implementation - which has been a disaster.
By voting down Scottish Labour’s attempt........
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