Less hate on the streets

THE number of hate crimes recorded by police in Lothian and Borders between April and June fell by 13 per cent against the same period last year, new figures have revealed.

The force recorded 415 hate crimes during the three-month period, which included those offences perpetrated with race, gender, religion, sexual orientation and disability as an “aggravating factor”.

The number of race-related hate crimes fell by ten per cent during the period, decreasing from 383 to 345 according to the latest figures.

Ten age-related hate crimes were recorded, seven relating to disability, 12 to religion or belief, 39 to sexual orientation, and one to gender.

A total of 53 per cent of the 415 hate crimes reported between April and June have so far been solved by police.