What hate crime is
A hate crime is any criminal offence that is motivated by hostility or prejudice based on the victim's:
- disability
- race
- religion or belief
- sexual orientation
- transgender.
We believe that there is no excuse for any form of hate crime: it is simply not acceptable and it will not be tolerated.
When it does happen, we want the justice system to deal with such crimes effectively so that victims have the confidence to report it, secure in the knowledge that they will receive a good level of service from the police and other agencies.
Disability hate crime
A crime becomes a disability hate crime when it is 'perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by malice or ill will based on a persons disability or perceived disability'.
Anyone can commit a disability hate crime.
They can be a:
- young person who shout abuse when a disabled person walks by
- carer who takes advantage of a disabled person by taking their money
- student who bullies another disabled student
- retired person who harasses their disabled neighbour because they have a disabled parking bay.
Mate crime
There are also some people who might make friends with a disabled person so that they can take advantage of them.
They use their friendship to cover the fact that they are committing crimes at the disabled person's expense. Some disability organisations call this 'mate crime'.
'Mate' covers a wide number of people including friends, family and carers.
Sometimes the exploitation may not be an illegal act but still has a negative effect on the individual.
Why you should report it
It is important that all hate crimes are reported to the police. It helps Strathclyde Police in tackling hate crime.
Challenging these people can stop this from happening to someone else.
Anyone can report a hate crime - whether they are:
- the victim
- someone who witnesses a hate crime
- someone the victim or witness tells about a crime.
No matter how trivial or unimportant you think it is, your complaint will be taken seriously when you choose to report it.
The information you provide is valuable because it helps the police to identify areas of concern or patterns of behaviour and could lead to the prosecution of offenders.
How to report hate crime
You can report a hate crime to the police:
- in person at a police station or speak to police on the street
- by phone - call 101 for non-emergencies or 999 if it's an emergency
- online on the Police Scotland (Poileas Alba) website
- in a third party reporting centre such as a library.
You do not need to know the victim or give their name when reporting a disability hate crime.