Written Question · S6W-05629 · Session 6
How many incidents of hate crime have been recorded on public transport in each of the last five years, broken down by category of hate cri…
The question
To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of hate crime have been recorded on public transport in each of the last five years, broken down by category of hate crime.
The answer
Incidents of hate crime on public transport will be recorded by either Police Scotland or, if they occur on the railways (on trains or at stations), the British Transport Police.
Table 1 presents information provided by the British Transport Police on hate crime offences recorded in Scotland, by type of hate category, since 2017-18. The 2021-22 reporting year is partially complete as it will run up to the end of March 2022. The total number of crimes recorded each year is less than the summation of the separate hate categories, as some crimes include more than one type of prejudice.
Information is not held centrally on the number of hate crimes recorded in other public transport settings. Some analysis is available from a study into the characteristics of police recorded Hate Crime , published by the Scottish Government in February 2021. This report was based on a review of just over one-third of all hate crimes recorded by Police Scotland in 2018-19, and findings were presented separately depending on whether the victim was a police officer in the line of duty. For those cases that didn’t involve a police officer as the victim (estimated to be 4,620), table 2 below shows the percentage that occurred on public transport (both on the mode of transport and at stations/stops). This information is also available in Table 11 of the report, which breaks down hate crimes by types of location. The equivalent data on public transport-based hate crimes with police officers as victims cannot be estimated due to the very low number found within the study.
A second study into the characteristics of hate crime recorded by Police Scotland is due to be published later this year. This will provide the same type of disaggregated data and information for the year 2020-21.
Table 1: The number of hate crime offences recorded on railway Network in Scotland by crime, 2017-18 to 2021-22 a
Financial year
Hate Indicators
Number of Crimes with Hate Marker 1
Disability
Sexual Orientation
Racial
Religious
Transgender
2017-18
4
24
105
85
3
193
2018-19
7
29
73
51
1
150
2019-20
0
32
96
37
3
154
2020-21
2
13
42
11
0
61
2021-22 a
2
38
71
16
4
118
Source: British Transport Police
a. Partial Data for performance year 2021-22, cut-off 12/01/2022.
1. There can be multiple flags added per crime
Table 2: Percentage hate crimes recorded by Police Scotland (with non-police officer victims) which occurred on public transport, 2018-19
Aggravator
Percentage
Disability
4%
Race
3%
Religion
*
Sexual orientation
6%
Transgender
*
Total 2
3%
Source: Scottish Government, study into the characteristics of police recorded Hate Crime
2.Includes all hate aggravators and calculated using weighted values from the study.
‘*’ indicates a value of less than 0.5% (or based on a figure less than 5) but greater than zero.
Table 1 presents information provided by the British Transport Police on hate crime offences recorded in Scotland, by type of hate category, since 2017-18. The 2021-22 reporting year is partially complete as it will run up to the end of March 2022. The total number of crimes recorded each year is less than the summation of the separate hate categories, as some crimes include more than one type of prejudice.
Information is not held centrally on the number of hate crimes recorded in other public transport settings. Some analysis is available from a study into the characteristics of police recorded Hate Crime , published by the Scottish Government in February 2021. This report was based on a review of just over one-third of all hate crimes recorded by Police Scotland in 2018-19, and findings were presented separately depending on whether the victim was a police officer in the line of duty. For those cases that didn’t involve a police officer as the victim (estimated to be 4,620), table 2 below shows the percentage that occurred on public transport (both on the mode of transport and at stations/stops). This information is also available in Table 11 of the report, which breaks down hate crimes by types of location. The equivalent data on public transport-based hate crimes with police officers as victims cannot be estimated due to the very low number found within the study.
A second study into the characteristics of hate crime recorded by Police Scotland is due to be published later this year. This will provide the same type of disaggregated data and information for the year 2020-21.
Table 1: The number of hate crime offences recorded on railway Network in Scotland by crime, 2017-18 to 2021-22 a
Financial year
Hate Indicators
Number of Crimes with Hate Marker 1
Disability
Sexual Orientation
Racial
Religious
Transgender
2017-18
4
24
105
85
3
193
2018-19
7
29
73
51
1
150
2019-20
0
32
96
37
3
154
2020-21
2
13
42
11
0
61
2021-22 a
2
38
71
16
4
118
Source: British Transport Police
a. Partial Data for performance year 2021-22, cut-off 12/01/2022.
1. There can be multiple flags added per crime
Table 2: Percentage hate crimes recorded by Police Scotland (with non-police officer victims) which occurred on public transport, 2018-19
Aggravator
Percentage
Disability
4%
Race
3%
Religion
*
Sexual orientation
6%
Transgender
*
Total 2
3%
Source: Scottish Government, study into the characteristics of police recorded Hate Crime
2.Includes all hate aggravators and calculated using weighted values from the study.
‘*’ indicates a value of less than 0.5% (or based on a figure less than 5) but greater than zero.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S6W-05629 by reference.