Lord Advocate in warning to perpetrators of hate crime

The Lord Advocate, James Wolffe QC, has welcomed the beginning of UK Hate Crime Awareness Week with a promise to use the full force of the law against hate crime.

Mr Wolffe is attending an event at Police Scotland College in Tulliallan on Friday to raise awareness of disability hate crime.

Mr Wolffe said: “All people in Scotland are entitled to live their lives free from violence, intimidation and prejudice. Crime motivated by hatred is an affront to the basic values of tolerance and respect which characterise modern Scotland. It is liable to create division and fear within and between communities.”

He added: “The prosecution service, along with Police Scotland, plays an essential role in creating an environment in which all people who live in Scotland, regardless of their personal or social circumstances, can have confidence that they live in a just society and that they will be protected from crime – and in particular from hate crime.”