“What’s a hate crime?” We hear that a lot. Hate crime is defined as any criminal offence which is perceived by the victim or any other person to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on a person’s race; religion/belief; sexual orientation; disability, because they are transgender or for any other protected characteristic. It can include verbal abuse, intimidation, threats, harassment, assault and damage to property. A hate incident is behaviour which isn’t a crime but which is perceived b

Today we launched our 2015 hate crime prevention campaign with the support of three of the country's elite para-sports stars at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. Superintendent Ross Aitken of Police Scotland’s Safer Communities team said: “Tackling hate crime is a priority for Police Scotland. “If anyone feels they have been the victim of a crime which is motivated by malice or ill will because of their sexual orientation, transgender identity, faith, ethnicity or disability, they should report it