Police Scotland faces backlash over its initial dismissal of a complaint about an anti-Semitic Facebook post, citing the reporter’s non-Jewish identity and high workloads, despite Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act aimed at addressing such offences.
Police Scotland is currently under scrutiny for its response to a report concerning a potentially anti-Semitic Facebook post, where a swastika was combined with the Star of David. The controversy emerged after a woman, who reported the offensive content, claimed her complaint was dismissed by the officers due to her not being Jewish. The police allegedly cited heavy workloads and questioned the woman’s identity, suggesting the incident wouldn’t be classified as a crime because of her ethnicity. This situation brings to the forefront the difficulties in combatting hate speech and symbols online, particularly with the enforcement of Scotland’s Hate Crime and Public Order Act, designed to address such offences. The police have since begun an investigation into the reported content, amidst criticism for their preliminary reaction to the complaint. This incident emphasizes the challenges in identifying and acting against hate speech targeting specific communities, independent of the reporter’s identity.