The Equality and Human Rights Commission has called for a full-scale review of the UK’s hate crime laws and strategies as part of a new national drive to defeat the rise in race hate crime.
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Minister for Community Safety Roseanna Cunningham has cautiously welcomed figures showing a decrease in racist incidents recorded by the police in Scotland in 2010-11.
Ms Cunningham said that there are still far too many hate crimes taking place across the country and warned against complacency in light of more up-to-date Crown Office prosecution statistics published last month. These showed an increase in the number of charges reported to the Procurator Fiscal by the police and other agencies for racism and other forms of hatred in 2011-12.
The ‘Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2010-11' statistics show:
Under new plans by the Crown Office, sectarian hate crimes in Scotland could be punishable by custodial sentences of up to five years instead of six months.
