The high cost of Scotland’s contentious new hate law

Back to Scotland and Humza Yousaf’s controversial new hate law. The first minister’s Hate Crime Act has left an already overstretched and under-resourced police force swamped with trivial complaints. Of the over 7,000 reports made in the first week, only 3 percent of these were actual crimes. And now the spotlight is on the rather strange public information campaign released by the Scottish government. Not only was it pretty ineffective at communicating exactly what a hate crime is (hence the low crime to report ratio), it has now transpired that it cost the taxpayer nearly, um, £400,000 (around $500,000). Crikey.

The questionable “Hate Hurts” campaign — plastered across billboards and TV screens in the days leading up to the new law — also came with a rhyme: 

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words… make me feel hated just for being me… make me scared to leave my house… make our lives a living hell… cause wounds that never heal. Hate hurts. If you witness a hate crime, report it.

Not the catchiest jingle in the world…

Even before the Hate Crime Act came into force, there were fears about the number of “spurious and vexatious complaints” the police force would likely have to deal with. And last week, the Scottish Police Federation admitted that forty officers a day have been required to work overtime to deal with the volume of reports, while the head of the organization warned that “Police Scotland cannot cope with the demand.” With this in mind, perhaps directing £400,000 of taxpayer’s money to the country’s rather stretched police force would have been a better use of funds? Just a thought…

The new Act has expanded the characteristics protected under the law, but while “transgender identity” has been added, “sex” has not — concerning a number of women’s rights campaigners and politicians. Alex Salmond’s Alba Party continues to demand that the law be repealed, while Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says he would amend it if he became first minister. Meanwhile the SNP justice secretary Angela Constance brushed off the criticism as it being a “very lively first week” for the law. That’s putting it mildly…

Revelations about the cost of the failed information campaign will only add insult to injury. Although the Scottish government doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being good with its money…

This article was originally published on The Spectator’s UK website.