Police Scotland confirm JK Rowling’s online comments were not recorded as a non-criminal hate incident

Police Scotland have confirmed that online comments by Harry Potter author JK Rowling were not recorded as a non-criminal hate incident.

After talking about strength no further action will replace a social media post made by the author in response to Scotland’s controversial new hate crime laws.

Police say non-criminal hate incidents are recorded when a complaint does not meet the criminal threshold but is deemed to be “motivated (in whole or in part) with malice and malice directed towards a community group” Scotland guide.

On Wednesday, a Police Scotland spokesman said: “The situation has been assessed and will not be recorded as a non-criminal hate incident.”

Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill Effective Monday Designed to address the harm caused by hate and prejudice, extending protection to people from abusive behavior on grounds such as age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity.

Sexuality has been omitted from the bill as a separate bill aimed at tackling misogyny is expected to be introduced to the Scottish Parliament later.

Those supporting the new laws insist they will make Scotland more tolerant.

But Rowling publicly criticized the move, arguing it eroded free speech because she Dare the police to arrest her If they thought her online comments were criminal.

On Tuesday, a Police Scotland spokesman said: “The comments were not criminal and no further action will be taken.”

In response, Rowling posted on Regardless of the situation – they will all be treated equally before the law.”

Read more from Sky News:
What are Scotland’s new hate crime laws? Why are they controversial?

On Wednesday morning, Scotland’s Community Safety Minister Theobian Brown refused to say whether Rowling’s comments could be recorded as a non-criminal hate incident.

She told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland program it would be an operational issue for the force.

Ms Brown also said she was “surprised” to receive a call from Police Scotland after a false complaint was lodged anonymously in her name.

McCoist’s backlash

Rangers legend Ally McCoist has also faced backlash for her comments about the new laws.

Ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm derby, the former player-turned-football pundit told TalkSport that he “will join 48,000 fans in violating hate at the Rangers-Celtic game we’re about to watch.” bill”.

However, McCoist later announced that he would not feature in the Scottish Premiership game and would instead be away with his family for “a few days”.

Police Scotland has yet to confirm how many incidents of suspected hate crime have been reported since the legislation came into effect at the start of this week.

With reports that around 3,800 complaints have been received, the Scottish Conservatives have warned that if the situation continues, Police Scotland may need to deal with more than 1.3 million suspected hate crime incidents in a year, more than four times the total in 2023 The number of crimes recorded in Scotland was 302,076.

The Scottish Conservatives intend to launch a petition against the new bill in a bid to repeal it.

Hate crimes are ‘weaponised’

Russell Findlay MSP, Scottish Tory shadow justice secretary, said: “Humza Youssef’s dangerous hate crimes have been weaponized on a massive industrial scale by thin-skinned troublemakers, and it’s a grave risk to Scotland that The police impose the greatest burden ever.

“Within 24 hours of the Act coming into force, Police Scotland received a large number of complaints, many of which were rants from malicious campaigners.

“At this rate, the number of hate complaints will exceed the number of actual crimes recorded each year.

“Hard-working police officers want to protect our communities, not waste precious time investigating every perceived hate crime.

“The Scottish Conservatives warned this would be catastrophic for the police and have a chilling effect on free speech.

“That’s why we are launching a petition to give the people of Scotland the chance to send a message to Humza Youssef and the SNP to tell them to repeal this law.”