Achi news desk-
However, with more than 16,000 officers in the force that means around 6,000 have not.
READ MORE: Hate crime law could ‘damage confidence in the police’
David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said there would not be enough time for officers to receive that training as the two-hour online module has only been available since February.
He told the Herald: “Our biggest issue was the training. We are not satisfied that the training is in place for officers. Training is the first thing they always fall back on.
“And we only had a period of three months there and only essential training was taking place.
“We know that so much of the police service is not working properly because officers are not properly trained, and there are legal issues due to training as well, for driving officers, road traffic officers, [armed response vehicle] officers, and we had a real concern about the training that has been put in place for hate crimes.”
The Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 consolidates some existing laws and creates a new offense of inciting hatred against protected characteristics, including age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and transgender identity.
It does not include sex. Humza Yousaf promised a separate misguided law in his first governing programme, although it has not yet been announced.
Police Scotland have repeatedly promised that they will investigate all complaints received.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland on Sunday, a senior official warned there could be a “huge increase” in reports when the legislation kicks in today.
Chief Superintendent Rob Hay, of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents (ASPS), said that while some of these may be done in good faith, others would try to “use the legislation to score points against people which sits on the other side of a particularly contentious debate.”
Last month, Joanna Cherry KC MP wrote in our sister paper, The National, that “the process will be the punishment” and that being under police investigation would be “stressful, costly, reputational and could lead to problems in the workplace. ”
However, Humza Yousaf said he had faith officers would be able to “weed out vexatious complaints”.
But Mr Kennedy said it would not be that simple, given that the force had promised to investigate every complaint.
“If that’s what the attending police officers are told to do, then they will have to do it,” he said.
“They will have to carry out an investigation, part of that would be to take statements to understand what has happened and what it is.”
“I would think of many cases, they will go, they will have to take the statements and then go back to the office with whatever investigations they have done and then possibly give it to the Crown or give it to the Police. Scotland to say what else do you want me to do with this?”
Mr Kennedy said he was concerned officers could be complained about if an investigation does not lead to charges.
“Because the other side of the coin is that, for a police officer, people are not short of coming forward to make a complaint about an individual.
“Officers don’t want someone to complain about, the stress that puts them under for the job, their home life, their family. They don’t want to do that.
“So I think initially what will happen is that they will take statements. They will look into what is being complained about and it will depend on what it is.”
Dr Kath Murray of policy group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie (MBM) told The Herald that there are still many questions about how the Act will be policed.
“Police Scotland has failed to share training materials or operational guidance with Parliament ahead of the new Act, delaying its limited response to MSPs until hours before the Easter recess.
“It has appointed 500 hate crime campaigners and separately, hate crime advisers, which include [equality, diversity and inclusion] staff. We know nothing about how they were selected, nor the training and guidance provided to them.
“We do know, however, that police officers devised a case study for young people which suggested that it was a short step from believing that people cannot change gender to Nazism, that ‘diversity’ staff networks helped to invent its general training, and the LGBT. network tells police officers to ‘evangelize their allies’.
“The First Minister has said that vexatious complaints will not be investigated, but Police Scotland’s policy on initial investigation and recording is based on perception and does not allow for that.”
READ MORE: How Canada’s online harm bill sparked a familiar culture war
Meanwhile, Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Carbon-Free Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, said there had been a lot of “inflammatory misinformation” about the legislation, and that, as a result, he had experienced “immediate threats of violence.”
He told the BBC that there are people “wildly misrepresenting what is in the hate crime legislation, what it will mean.”
“And overall, they’re trying to drag it into some sort of culture war space,” he added.
“Some of the people on the right in particular use expressions like freedom of speech as if it meant the freedom to be offensive and boring and unpleasant and prejudiced.”
Mr Harvie added: “I have to say that some of the people who have been deliberately misrepresenting what is in this legislation are doing Scotland a huge disservice by confusing people about what is in it, they push wrong information.
“But I think they are also doing that without any regard for the real threat that is being created.
“Just in the last week or so, in response to some of the media reports and absurdly disingenuous comments from the Conservatives, I’ve had direct threats of violence as a result of people reading that kind of misinformation. inflammatory in the media.
“So people need to take a step back, take a breath, recognize what is important about protecting our society from inciting hatred and from the real threat to people’s safety that it leads to and take some responsibility in the way they argue this and I refer that more directly to the Conservative Party.”
Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser, who had one of his tweets last year deemed a “hate incident” by Police Scotland despite no law being broken, criticized the minister.
He said: “Patrick Harvie might feel differently if he had been wrongly reported and investigated for criticizing government policy on social media – something he often likes to do – as i was
“The Hate Crimes Act is a clear attack on free speech and will allow our thoughts and opinions to be policed and monitored online, in our workplaces and even in the comfort of our own homes. This is not spreading misinformation – these are facts.
“When the legislation comes into force tomorrow, I wonder how Patrick Harvie and his colleagues will feel when their insulting and derogatory comments about the Conservatives are now considered hate incidents.”
READ MORE: Poll: Humza Yousaf’s SNP could win majority of seats in Scotland
Victims and Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown said protections for freedom of expression “were built into the legislation passed by Parliament and these new offenses have a higher threshold for criminality than the long-standing offense of inciting hatred racist, which has been at work. since 1986.”
Responding to Dr Murray’s comment on Hate Crime Champions, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Hate Crime Champions have been a recognized role in Police Scotland for over six years.
“These trained staff provide advice, support and assistance to colleagues in identifying and tackling the issues surrounding hate crime.
“Officers can nominate themselves or be nominated by their department or sub-division to take part in the training and continue to be used in their current roles.”
On recording complaints, they said: “Recording is victim-centred and the process has been part of policing for many years.
“It helps us monitor tensions within communities enabling appropriate police responses and helps build community confidence.
“These events can have a significant impact on people, particularly those who may already be vulnerable.”
