Racist incidents in 2013-14 up four per cent on previous year

The overall number of racist incidents recorded by the police in Scotland in 2013-14 was up by 3.9 per cent compared to 2012-13.

Victims or complainers of racist incidents from the Pakistani community in Scotland have fallen by 4.2 per cent over the last year, to their lowest levels in a decade.

However new statistics released today show that, despite the drop, members of the Pakistani community in Scotland were still most likely to be victims or complainers of racist incidents in 2013-14, with 224.2 victims or complainers per 10,000 of the population.

There were 4,807 racist incidents recorded by the police in 2013-14. This is an increase of 3.9 per cent compared to 2012-13 when 4,628 incidents were recorded, and the third lowest since 2004-05.

Where age and gender were known, males were more likely to be a victim/complainer of a racist incident with 14.5 victims/complainers per 10,000 population, compared to 5.8 victims/complainers per 10,000 population for females.

Males aged 26-35 had the highest rate with 38.8 victims/complainers per 10,000 population, while the corresponding highest rate for females, also aged 26-35, was 14.0 victims/complainers per 10,000 population.

The rise in incidents is mainly due to reports of complainers or victims who identify as “White British” ethnicity and, in the seven legacy force areas that we have a breakdown for, (which covers 57 per cent of all victims/complainers), 61 per cent of the White British are classed as “White Scottish”.

In light of these statistics, ministers are welcoming efforts by Scotland’s communities to promote a “no bystanders” culture where there is no place for bigotry and intolerance.

For all reported incidents, 94.7 per cent resulted in at least one crime being reported. There was a 77 per cent clear-up rate on crime recorded as part of a racist incident.

Minister for Legal Affairs Paul Wheelhouse said: “These statistics paint a complex picture of the impact of racist incidents across Scotland.

“While it is encouraging that the number of incidents involving members of the Pakistani community are now at their lowest levels in a decade, the overall increase in reported racist incidents more generally shows us that more work still needs to be done.

“Where we can dig deeper into the statistics, we can see that many reports are from Scots who are classed as ‘White British’. The fact this mirrors the demographic make-up of Scotland means it may well be down to more witnesses coming forward, which is to be welcomed.

“The fact that so many of these incidents resulted in at least one crime being reported, and that over three quarters of these have been solved also shows just how seriously the police take any reports of racial discrimination, and I would like to pay tribute to their efforts and strong leadership in this area.

Chief superintendent Paul Main, lead officer for Safer Communities, said: “One incident where hatred and intolerance is a motivating factor is one too many. Police Scotland continues to work closely with our communities and other partners across the criminal justice spectrum to ensure those who are the victims of such incidents have the confidence to come forward and report their experiences to us.

“Police Scotland will apply a victim-focused approach to hate crime. That approach will also target persistent and repeat offenders, using all of the information and intelligence available to officers throughout our communities.

“Communities can help defeat hate crime; information from the public is vital to help us tackle those who commit it and we are seeing growing confidence in the public to come forward and report incidents.”