The north-east is generally a tolerant and respectful place to live, but there is a small minority of people who commit hate crimes.
A hate crime is defined as ‘any crime which is perceived by the victim or any other person as being motivated (wholly or partly) by malice and ill-will towards a social group’.
The five social groups protected under hate crime legislation in Scotland are disability, race, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.
Hate crime can include, for example, a physical attack, name-calling, bullying, emotional harassment or abuse, or online abuse.
We know it can have a long-lasting impact on victims, witnesses and our communities.
What might appear to be a minor incident on the face of it might lead to a person feeling humiliated, isolated and intimated, and unable to go about their daily business.
Police Scotland take hate crime seriously and record, investigate, and monitor every hate-related crime or incident reported to us.
Hate crime will not be tolerated. Every incident reported will be thoroughly investigated and we will do everything possible to bring those responsible to justice.
We work closely with partners who provide advice and support for minority groups and meet with them regularly, so we can work together to address issues and improve services.
We know that hate crime remains under-reported and we recognise there are various reasons why people may decide not to report such crimes to police, reporting hate crime is important.
If you report it, we can take steps to deal with it, to try to prevent the same thing from happening to someone else.
We can also direct you to organisations that can provide additional support.
We can work together to help rid Scotland of hate and make sure people can live without fear of abuse and discrimination.
You can report it on someone’s behalf
It is not acceptable for people to be targeted just for being who they are.
If you do not feel confident reporting hate crime yourself, third party reporting centres can contact police on your behalf, as can family or friends.
If you see a hate crime happening, you can report it on someone’s behalf if they feel unable to report it themselves.
By working together we can send a clear message that hostility and prejudice will be not tolerated in our community.
Hate Crime Awareness Week runs from October 9 to 16.
