Nearly 7,800 hate crime complaints were made to Police Scotland in the week Humza Yousaf's new law came into force

Police Scotland received nearly 7,800 reports of hate crime under Scotland’s new law in the first week of operation – with three per cent of the reports resulting in a recorded offence, the force has said.

The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act was enacted on April 1 and since then police say they have logged 7,152 reports of hate made online, alongside 400 police logged hate reports and a handful of complaints made by phone or email.

Police say the vast number of reports of online hate received during the first week – many of which were targeted at JK Rowling and First Minister Humza Yousaf – were anonymous. They were assessed against the legislation and no action was taken.

The force intends to publish data on the new legislation weekly. It says there has been a ‘substantial increase’ in the number of online hate reports it has received compared to before the legislation came into effect.

However, police chiefs insist that the impact of the law on frontline policing and its ability to respond to calls regarding other crimes has been ‘minimal’.

Protesters at a protest against the new Hate Crime Act in Edinburgh on April 1. Police say over 7,700 reports were made in the first week, including 7,152 reports of online hate

Many of the complaints were made against Humza Yousaf, the First Minister, for a video circulated by far-right accounts on social media that sought to portray him as racist

JK Rowling was also the subject of many complaints for a series of tweets she made targeting high-profile trans women, including convicted criminals

A breakdown of the figures published on Wednesday shows 3,419 online hate reports were made on April Fools’ Day, the day the law came into effect.

On April 2, 1,359 reports were made – followed by 586, 961, 304, 180 and 343 on April 3 through to April 7.

There were also 430 police incidents that were labelled as hate crimes, 34 hate crime related calls on 999 or 101 phone numbers, and 141 reports made via email.

Of the reports made, 240 were recorded as hate crimes – almost double that of the same time period for recent years, when 139 were recorded in the week of April 1-7 in 2021.

Of the reports made, 30 were recorded as NCHIs – meaning they were not considered criminal, but were logged as running the risk of stirring up hate in communities.

More NCHIs were logged last week than for the same time period in previous years.

Among the high-profile targets of many complaints were Mr Yousaf, a video of whom was circulated by far-right accounts on social media that sought to portray him as racist.

JK Rowling was also reported for a series of tweets she made targeting high-profile trans women, including convicted criminals, whom she labelled ‘men’. She challenged Police Scotland to arrest her in the series of posts on April 1.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: ‘This data highlights the substantial increase in the number of online hate reports being received since 1 April.

‘This significant demand continues to be managed within our contact centres and so far the impact on frontline policing, our ability to answer calls and respond to those who need our help in communities across Scotland has been minimal.

‘All complaints received are reviewed by officers, supported by dedicated hate crime advisers, and dealt with appropriately, whether that is being progressed for further assessment, or closed as they do not meet the criteria under the legislation’.

This is a breaking news story, more to follow.

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