Scottish Government

Working Group on Hate Crime

4. EXISTING POLICY INITIATIVES

4.1 While this consultation focuses on the criminal justice system and therefore the impact of someone committing a hate crime, the Scottish Executive and other agencies are also working to combat crime and prejudice at other levels. This chapter sets out ongoing work in the main criminal justice bodies and other areas that are helping address this type of crime.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

4.2 There are a variety of areas that support victims of crime, some of which provide specific support for those who are victims of "hate crime" or who are particularly vulnerable.

4.3 All victims of crime can access information about the criminal justice system and the support that is available. The Executive has published a leaflet to provide a simple overview of the criminal justice system which is available in a range of different formats and languages. The Executive has also established a website that contains information about how the criminal justice system works and where victims can go for further information and support: http://www.scottishvictimsofcrime.co.uk

The Police

4.4 The police increasingly recognise the importance of dealing sensitively with minority groups. As standard practice, the police's senior investigating officer will appoint a victim or family liaison police officer when the incident is considered serious or is particularly sensitive. The Scottish Executive, on behalf of the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, published a paper called "Pride and Prejudice" in June 2003 reviewing police race relations in Scotland. It contains a chapter on Diversity which looks at police relations with a number of social groups including the LGBT community.

4.5 All forces have signed up to the National Equal Opportunities Training Strategy (NEOTS). The development of the strategy began in 1998. All staff members are given anti-discrimination training which challenges prejudice and personal attitudes by looking at racism and other different forms of prejudice and discrimination. This training is commonly referred to as "Diversity Awareness". The delivery of the training began in 2001 in Scotland.

4.6 The NEOTS training is complemented by training at the Scottish Police College where students are provided with a better understanding of the complex issues surrounding the policing of a diverse society. As well as complying with any equal opportunities legislation, students are also taught to recognise that unfair treatment of others is unacceptable on any grounds. More recently, the College's Continuous Professional Development Programme prospectus 2003-2004 includes a 1-day seminar called "Building Rapport with the Gay Community - Bridging the Gap".

4.7 Many initiatives involving the police to combat hate crime are taken forward in partnerships with local authorities and other agencies. "Remote Reporting" schemes have been established throughout Scotland to encourage members of ethnic minority and LGBT communities to report crimes. A number of forces have appointed officers or identified a department to have specific responsibilities for diversity policing issues. Forces such as Lothian and Borders, Fife and Tayside, have established liaison officers for many strands including their LGBT community. Awareness training courses have been developed to assist staff involved in policing these communities.

4.8 The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) Race and Community Relations Standing Committee has a remit to consider, consult and counsel on race and community relations and other associated matters which have a national significance for the Scottish police service at strategic and policy levels. This Standing Committee covers a number of diversity portfolios, namely race, LGBT, sectarianism, older persons, asylum seekers, gypsy/travellers, disability and mental health and gender. Each portfolio holder, as part of the process of identifying and prioritising their respective work agenda, consults with both statutory and non-statutory organisations/fora established to support these specific social groups.

4.9 All Scottish Forces will move to a more victim-orientated National Crime Recording Standard, which will mean that a crime will be recorded if the victim believes that a crime has been committed, without requiring corroborative evidence for the crime.

4.10 The recording and monitoring of hate crime by the police in Scotland is a constantly changing situation as IT is adapted to meet the evolving needs of each force. As at August 2003, all Forces were recording and monitoring racist crime, most were flagging homophobic and religious/belief based hate crime, with all moving towards this capacity, and two Forces had processes in place to identify disability-related hate crime.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)

4.11 The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service provide an information service for victims called Victim Information and Advice (VIA).

4.12 The principal aims of VIA are:

• to give information to victims, bereaved next of kin and some witnesses about the criminal justice process
• to keep victims and bereaved next of kin informed about the progress of the case that affects them
• to tell victims, bereaved families and vulnerable witnesses about other agencies that can give specialist support and help, e.g. Victim Support.

4.13 People who are entitled to receive information and advice from VIA include:

• a victim of a racist crime
• a victim of domestic abuse
• a victim of a sexual offence
• any other victim, next of kin or witness where the victim or witness may be vulnerable, e.g. because of disability or age
• a victim of a crime motivated by homophobia where that victim is considered to be vulnerable due to his or her sexual orientation.

4.14 VIA is still developing and not all of Scotland as yet has access to the service. There are currently offices in Aberdeen, Glasgow, Hamilton, Kilmarnock, Peterhead, Edinburgh and Dundee. By the end of 2003, VIA aims to have offices in each of the 11 Area Procurator Fiscal Offices into which the Scottish prosecution service is divided.

4.15 The COPFS currently monitors the numbers of race crimes reported by the police. Statistics can be produced to show what decisions were taken about prosecuting these cases and what happened to them as they proceeded through the court process. At present other forms of hate crime dealt with under the common law are not recorded and monitored but it is possible under the present system to set up a "flagging and tagging" procedure whereby the numbers of such crimes could be recorded and monitored.

4.16 The COPFS has race resource teams in each of the 11 Areas that give advice on race cases and liaise with minority ethnic groups on issues at local level. These teams report on a regular basis to the Diversity Team at the Crown Office and these reports in turn are put before the Race Strategy Group which is chaired by the Solicitor General, where policies on race matters and race crime are developed.

4.17 As far as race crime and crimes motivated by religious prejudice are concerned, the Lord Advocate has issued guidance to police officers as to how these cases should be investigated and reported to Procurators Fiscal. Further advice on these subjects can be given to Procurators Fiscal by the Diversity Team at the Crown Office.

4.18 The COPFS has produced a highly detailed race equality action plan as required by the Race Relations Amendment Act. The COPFS has developed the Working Group on Interpretation and Translation which is examining ways of taking a uniform approach to the issues of availability and quality of interpreting and translation right throughout the criminal justice system.

4.19 The Crown Office Diversity Team is acting as a conduit between the COPFS and various minority groups with a view to addressing some of the problems or concerns regarding hate crimes.

4.20 The COPFS started a roll-out of 2-day diversity awareness courses that is mandatory for all COPFS staff. This programme started in November 2003 and will continue into 2005.

4.21 The COPFS has developed its Equality Advisory Group made up of representatives of the minority ethnic communities and other bodies with an interest in race matters. This group gives independent advice and opinion on existing and proposed COPFS policies.

The Scottish Court Service

4.22 The Scottish Court Service is an executive agency of the Scottish Executive Justice Department and is responsible for the general administration of the Supreme and Sheriff Courts in Scotland.

4.23 The Scottish Court Service has also made a considerable contribution to providing valuable support to witnesses and victims who are required to attend court to give evidence. It has published an Action Plan for improving services to victims attending court in line with the Scottish Strategy for Victims. In addition, Victim Support Scotland (see below) provides a witness service for which accommodation has been made available in all the Sheriff Courts and which is being rolled out to the High Court. Court staff also assist with advice and visits to court in advance of trials.

4.24 The Service is also currently contributing to work on the Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Bill, which is currently before the Scottish Parliament (see below).

Victim Support Scotland

4.25 Victim Support Scotland is funded by the Executive to deliver services to victims of crime and to witnesses. The police pass on to Victim Support Scotland details of all victims who wish to access support. Local victim support services then get in touch with them to offer support. Victim Support Scotland also delivers the Witness Service in the Sheriff Courts and High Court. This provides information and support to all witnesses before, during and after the trial.

The Scottish Strategy for Victims

4.26 The Scottish Strategy for Victims was published by the Scottish Executive in 2001. It sets a challenging new agenda which brings together all interests within the criminal justice system to deliver policies and services to meet the needs of victims and witnesses. Commitments included piloting victim statements; the provision of funding for a court-based volunteer Witness Service; establishing a new service working alongside the Procurator Fiscal Service to provide support and information to victims and witnesses; looking at ways of expanding the statutory definition of "vulnerable person"; and examining how those who need it could be given support or protection. Many of these have been implemented but the Strategy is a living document and will continue to evolve.

Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003

4.27 The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 introduced new rights for victims. This included a right for victims of certain types of crime to be able to make a written statement to the court about the impact of the crime on them. Victim statement schemes will be piloted in the Sheriff Courts and High Court in Edinburgh, Kilmarnock and in the Sheriff Court in Ayr over the next two years. In the pilot areas, people who have been victims of racial offences will have the right to make a victim statement, as well as those who have been victims of crimes of violence, crimes of indecency and domestic housebreaking.

Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Bill

4.28 The Vulnerable Witnesses (Scotland) Bill was introduced in the Scottish Parliament on 23 June 2003. The Bill enables further assistance and protection to be given to vulnerable witnesses. This should help vulnerable witnesses to give their best evidence in a criminal case.

4.29 Much of the Bill relates to increased protection for children. However, the Bill also includes discretionary entitlements to special measures for people with a mental disorder which affects their ability to give evidence, or for those where fear, distress or intimidation could prevent them from giving their best evidence to the court. This last category should enable victims of "hate crimes" such as homophobic assaults to benefit from the use of special measures when they give evidence. These special measures include screens, the witness having a supporter, a live TV link being used for the witness to give evidence and evidence taken on commission.

Antisocial Behaviour Bill

4.30 The Scottish Executive introduced the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Bill in Parliament on 29 October 2003. The Bill includes a range of measures to support the implementation of proposals in "Putting Our Communities First: A Strategy for Tackling Antisocial Behaviour", which was consulted on over the summer of 2003.

4.31 The Executive's strategy to tackle antisocial behaviour has four themes:

• protecting and empowering communities
• preventing antisocial behaviour - children and families
• building safe, secure and attractive communities
• effective enforcement

4.32 The Executive's approach is intended to provide additional protection and support to those whose quality of life is undermined by threatening and intimidating behaviour and behaviour that can ruin the physical, economic and social fabric of communities. The Executive recognises that groups who are subject to hate crime may also be more likely to experience the effects of antisocial behaviour. The Executive consulted a range of equality groups and the consultation has informed the development of the proposals in the Bill. The Executive's Policy Memorandum sets out consideration of the effects of the proposals on equal opportunities and an overarching equality provision has been added to the Bill to ensure that checks and balances are in place when measures in the Bill are implemented.

4.33 The Antisocial Behaviour Bill should complement work on hate crime as it provides additional tools to protect victims of antisocial conduct, which may involve incidents not sufficiently serious or clear cut to be prosecuted on a criminal basis. Where a prosecution is being made, the court should consider all the evidence in the case, including whether the incident was motivated by prejudice.

4.34 You can find more detail on the Bill at the following website: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/bills/index.htm#12

WORK OUTSIDE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

"see me..." Campaign

4.35 In 2001, the Millan Committee recommended a campaign of public education to improve public understanding of mental disorder, attitudes towards people with mental disorders, and to reduce the stigma of mental disorder. The Scottish Executive is funding an alliance of mental health organisations called "see me" to develop this work. The "see me..." campaign was launched in October 2002. This is a sustained high profile Scotland-wide anti-stigma and anti-discrimination campaign to combat prejudice against people with mental disorders. The campaign uses a range of media, including television and cinema advertising, the production and dissemination of a range of anti-stigma resource materials and a website. The campaign also works with national and local anti-stigma action by agencies, organisations and groups in the public, private and voluntary sectors. Guidelines for the media on good practice in reporting on mental health issues were published by "see me..." in March 2003.

Domestic Abuse

4.36 Domestic abuse is associated with broader gender inequality and is mainly associated with abuse against women, although abuse against men does take place. There are differing views on whether domestic abuse should be seen as a hate crime against someone because of his or her gender or whether it should more appropriately be regarded as reflecting a power imbalance in a particular relationship. The Violence Against Women Unit of the Scottish Executive view domestic abuse as a male abuse of power rather than a "hate crime".

4.37 In 2000, the Scottish Executive produced a National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland and established the National Group to Address Domestic Abuse, now called the National Group to Address Violence against Women. To date the National group has set up four issue-based working groups to look at refuge provision in Scotland, current legislation, developing a Prevention Strategy and developing a Training Strategy.

4.38 In order to support the work of the National Group and to enable it to fulfil its commitment to the National Strategy, the Executive has made over 20 million available since April 2001. In addition to this funding, the Scottish Executive also provides funding to Scottish Women's Aid and to Rape Crisis Scotland.

4.39 Further to the work of the National group, each local authority area now has an active multi-agency domestic abuse partnership. Each of these partnerships has a core group of representatives from the police, women's aid, victim support, health boards and trusts and council officers from social work, housing, education and community safety. The Executive is also providing support for children who witness domestic abuse and runs awareness raising initiatives including an advertising campaign.

4.40 The Scottish Executive is working with the Judiciary, Scottish Court Service, the Police, the Procurator Fiscal Service and other key stakeholders to look into issues surrounding the setting up of a specific domestic abuse court. It is proposed that these courts would improve the management of domestic abuse cases and ensure support for the women suffering from abuse before, during and at the conclusion of proceedings. Two working groups have been established and it is anticipated that a pilot court could be established in Glasgow in Spring 2004.

Community Planning Partnerships' Community Plans

4.41 While most Community Planning Partnerships' Community Plans aim to combat prejudice and reduce the fear of crime, only a few relate it to specific groups. The most commonly recognised group is older people. There are a few initiatives that focus directly on crime motivated by social prejudice or a fear of crime for vulnerable members of society. Examples include:

• Angus Community Planning Partners has implemented a "Safe as Houses" initiative designed to reduce crime and the fear of crime especially among older people and vulnerable individuals by providing and fitting packs containing home security and safety equipment.
• City of Edinburgh Community Planning Partners has recognised that levels of safety in the community can be influenced by diverse factors such as building design, lighting, planning and transportation policies, as well as social circumstances. The Community Planning Partners view crime prevention as not the sole responsibility of the police service.
• Fife Community Planning Partners makes explicit reference to "hate crime" in two documents "The State of Fife Report August 2002" and June 2000 Community Plan. Fife Partnership works to ensure the safety of older people and vulnerable adults. The Community Safety Partnership also proposes to work with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities to address hate crime.

Community Wardens

4.42 The Executive is providing 20m to support the extension of Community Wardens across Scotland. Community Wardens provide a visible, official presence in a neighbourhood with the aim of reducing crime and the fear of crime, reducing antisocial behaviour and improving environmental quality. They can have a wide range of roles depending on the needs of the neighbourhood and the priorities of the community. In the Executive's guidance to local authorities and partners, it has suggested that potential roles for wardens could include keeping an eye on properties occupied by vulnerable people, for example, people with mental health problems or people who have been subjected to racial harassment, and escorting older and/or vulnerable residents, for example, to collect pensions, or to attend community activities.

Tackling Antisocial Behaviour, Violence and Bullying in Schools

4.43 The Education Department of the Scottish Executive develops policies and guidelines for education authorities and schools to tackle any bullying and antisocial behaviour or violence within schools, and to monitor and record any incidents that do occur appropriately.

4.44 The Executive funds the Anti-Bullying Network, which develops materials and resources for schools. In addition, the Executive produces and distributes information on bullying for pupils, parents and schools, and this programme of information is planned to raise awareness of issues of homophobic bullying, racist bullying and bullying motivated by other forms of prejudice.

4.45 The Executive is also working with authorities to ensure that any incident of antisocial behaviour or violence reported in schools, against school staff, is recorded to assess the motivation behind the incident, such as racism, homophobia, religion and other categories. In particular, this will begin to inform the way the national collection on data of incidents against school staff can be analysed for any trends in this regard.