A “shocking” spike in hate crimes and incidents reported in Angus has been blamed on Brexit and Donald Trump.
Angus Council scrutiny committee member and SNP councillor Julie Bell has raised concerns after police recorded 70 hate crimes and incidents in the county over a six-month period last year.
Her comments come as a further 20 local officers were trained as hate crime specialists and one tasked with monitoring all incidents to identify emerging patterns of behaviour.
Police made 70 reports from April to September last year – 15 of them logged as crimes and the rest as incidents.
It compares to just 24 reported hate crimes in the county during the previous year.
‘Huge concerns’
Ms Bell said: “I believe these statistics are being fuelled by a worrying and escalating right-wing agenda through both the Brexit campaign and the sorry state of Trumpian American politics. The recent shocking events in America are the peak of this toxicity.
“Whilst I hope the Biden/Harris era offers some hope, I have huge concerns about the danger of the diminution of human rights in Scotland following Brexit.”
The Angus hate crimes and incidents total includes 43 related to race, one related to religion, 22 to sexual orientation, three connected with disability and one with multiple aggravating factors.
Deplorable
Ms Bell said: “Every single one of these incidents is deplorable and unacceptable. Every one of these crimes is significant for the individual being attacked or abused, regardless of their protected characteristic.
“While some may think Angus does not have an issue with racism, homophobia, transphobia, disability or religion, or against any other protected characteristic, these figures clearly demonstrate otherwise.
“I fear much more goes on that is not reported so please make sure that if anything happens to you, or you witness a hate crime, please report.”
‘Impact cannot be underestimated’
A hate incident is one the victim, or any other person, perceives to be motivated by malice, ill-will and prejudice towards a person or group but which the police do not consider to be a specific criminal offence.
Officers record both so they can identify and address any pattern of targeted behaviour towards an individual, location or community.
Chief Inspector Wayne Morrison, area commander for Angus, said: “Police Scotland is committed to tackling all forms of hate crime and the harm this causes. The impact of these cannot be underestimated.
“Tayside Division has trained a further 20 officers as hate crime specialists and there is an officer whose role includes analysing and monitoring all reported incidents for any patterns of behaviour.
“This has further increased hate crime awareness so we can better support victims and communities.
“We also run regular campaigns and offer training to local businesses through our ‘Keep Safe’ programme to increase public knowledge of hate crime and raise awareness of reporting methods.”
An Angus Council spokesman said: “Crimes of hate should never be tolerated and should be reported to Police Scotland at the earliest opportunity.
“We work closely with the police and other agencies to address the incidence, causes and consequences of such behaviour.”
