Police Scotland launch new anti-hate crime campaign

The campaign is jointly run by Police Scotland and the Scottish government and has been received positively by the public

Police Scotland and the Scottish government have come together as the One Scotland campaign, funding a new drive to tackle hate crimes such as homophobia and transphobia. The campaign runs across social media, radio, and digital advertising, including large posters in busy areas.

The posters take the form of a letter, directly addressing those who may commit hate crimes, and are signed off on behalf of all of Scotland. The One Scotland website states: “Police Scotland takes hate crime very seriously. In the last year, there were over 5,300 charges of hate crime reported to the Procurator Fiscal in Scotland. However, there are many more incidents that go unreported. We all have a responsibility to report hate crime if we witness it – it’s the only way we can challenge it, and put an end to it for good.”

The campaign has already received a positive response, being praised on Twitter by the public, and on a wider forum by leading LGBT+ activist group and charity Stonewall, who commended the “great leadership” from the Scottish Government.

The chief superintendent, John McKenzie, said: “Police Scotland treats all hate-related crimes and incidents as a priority. It is recognised that hate-related crimes and incidents pose a significant threat to victims, their friends, families and wider communities and the potential impact of such crimes cannot be underestimated.”