Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2012-13

3. Commentary

The statistics on racist incidents are used to inform National Outcome 9 - 'we live our lives safe from crime, disorder and danger', National Outcome 11 - 'we have strong, resilient and supportive communities where people take responsibility for their own actions and how they affect others', as well as The Strategy for Justice in Scotland.

The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 changed the policing landscape in Scotland, replacing the eight police forces, the Scottish Police Services Authority and the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency from 1 April 2013. The Police Service of Scotland is now responsible for operational policing in Scotland and will be held to account by the Scottish Police Authority. The statistics set out in this bulletin cover the year immediately preceding the establishment of the Police Service of Scotland.

Users of the statistics should note that data on the number of racist incidents recorded by the police in Scotland is only available from 2004-05 onwards.

3.1. Incidents recorded by the police (tables 1 and 2, and charts 1 and 2)

• In 2012-13, a total of 4,628 racist incidents were recorded by the police in Scotland, a 14% decrease on the 5,389 racist incidents recorded in 2011-12. This continues the generally downward trend seen in the data since 2006-07.
• Six of the eight police forces recorded a decrease in the number of racist incidents between 2011-12 and 2012-13. Dumfries and Galloway recorded 68 incidents, the same number as in 2011-12 and Northern recorded 119 incidents, 12 more than in 2011-12.
• The number of racist incidents, as a rate per 10,000 population, is generally higher in urban areas. In 2012-13, the number of racist incidents recorded per 10,000 population was highest in Glasgow City (21 per 10,000 population), followed by City of Edinburgh (19 per 10,000 population) and Aberdeen City (15 per 10,000 population).
• It should be noted that there are a number of factors that may influence the number of racist incidents recorded by the police. One factor is that police forces are continuing to work with a range of victim support agencies to encourage reporting of such incidents. Other factors may be an increasing public intolerance of such behaviour, and increased public confidence that reporting such incidents is worthwhile. There have also been improvements in data collection by police forces, while the introduction of centralised call centres may have also encouraged the reporting of incidents.

Chart 2 Racist incidents recorded by the police per 10,000 population, by local authority area, 2012-13

3.2. Detail of the incidents (tables 3, 4, 5 and 6, and charts 3 and 4)

• Various details were recorded in relation to each racist incident, such as the location where the incident took place, the date and time of the incident, and whether a crime was recorded as part of the incident.

Chart 3 Location of racist incidents, Scotland, 2012-13

• The most common locations (excluding 47 incidents where location was unknown) for an incident in 2012-13 were the street (32%), a dwelling house (22%) and in a shop (17%). Other locations included a pub/ place of entertainment (6%) and restaurant/ takeaway (6%).

Chart 4 Racist incidents by weekday and time, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

• Just over half of all racist incidents (51%) were recorded between Friday and Sunday, with the remaining 49% spread fairly evenly throughout the other four days of the week. Chart 4 shows that racist incidents peak between 6pm and midnight on every day of the week, with the exception of Sunday where racist incidents peak between midnight and 6am. (Table 5).
• In 2012-13, where the person making the initial report about the incident was known (3,418 incidents), over two thirds of incidents were reported to the police by the victim/complainer, which is the same as in 2011-12. From 2009-10 onwards, Lothian & Borders Police have been unable to provide information on who reported the incident and these incidents are included as unknown (Table 6) (see note 4.3).

3.3. Crimes recorded (tables 1, 7a, and 7b)

• In 2012-13, 96% of racist incidents recorded by the police resulted in one or more crimes being recorded. A total of 5,228 crimes were recorded as part of racist incidents in 2012-13, a 19% decrease on the 6,472 crimes recorded in 2011-12 (Table 1).

• In 2012-13, the crime/offence most frequently recorded as part of a racist incident was racially aggravated conduct, which accounted for 52% of all crimes recorded. Other crimes/offences recorded as part of a racist incident included breach of the peace etc. (25%), common assault (12%) and fire-raising, vandalism etc. (4%). In 2012-13, these four crimes and offences accounted for 92% of all crime and offences recorded as part of a racist incident, similar to the 93% in 2011-12 (Table 7a). Definitions of racially aggravated conduct and racially aggravated harassment are included in note 4.6.

• Overall, 71% of all crimes recorded by the police as part of a racist incident in 2012-13 were cleared up, this compares with a clear-up rate of 68% in 2011-12. The clear-up rate varies depending on the crime recorded as part of the incident, with 43% of crimes involving fire-raising, vandalism etc. being cleared up in 2012-13, compared to a clear-up rate of 77% for racially aggravated conduct. However, note that there were 211 crimes of fire-raising, vandalism etc. recorded as part of an incident, compared to 2,694 offences of racially aggravated conduct. The clear-up rate for racially aggravated conduct has shown an increase every year since the data collection began in 2004-05, where the clear up rate was 56% (Table 7b). The definition of 'cleared-up' can be found in note 4.5.

3.4. Victims/complainers of racist incidents (tables 8, 8a, 10 and 11 and chart 5)

• The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist and the complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6 for further information. Data on the characteristics of victims/complainers should therefore be treated with caution.

• Where ethnic group was known (5,004 victims/complainers), 41% of victims/complainers were of an Asian ethnic group (that is Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese or Other Asian). The largest groups of victims/complainers were Pakistani and White British each accounting for 23% of the total victims/complainers, where ethnic group was known. Ethnicity of victims/complainers for Scotland as a whole can only be reported at an aggregate level as detailed in Table 8.

• Seven police forces were able to provide more disaggregated ethnic group information (2,917 victims/complainers), Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British (19%), Other White (16%) and White Scottish (13%) were the largest groups of victims/complainers of racist incidents in 2012-13. Strathclyde police force (which accounts for 45% of the victims/complainers in 2012-13) was not able to provide this level of ethnic group information (Table 8a).

• Where age and gender were known (5,034 victims/complainers), 71% of victims/complainers of racist incidents recorded in 2012-13 were male, and this has remained relatively unchanged from previous years. Both males and females are most at risk of being a victim/complainer of a racist incidents when aged 26 to 35 years (42 per 10,000 population and 14 per 10,000 population, respectively) (Table 10).

Chart 5 Rate per 10,000 population of victims/complainers¹ and perpetrators of racist incidents, by age and gender of victim/complainer¹, Scotland, 2012-13

1. The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist. The complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6.

• In 2012-13, 70% of victims/complainers were reporting to the police for the first time. 13% of victims/complainers had previously reported one or two racist incidents to the police in the previous two years and 8% had previously reported 3 or more incidents. A further 9% of victims/complainers were known to have reported incidents to the police previously, but the number of times was unknown. Note that these percentages were based on those incidents for which previous incident information was known (4,949 victims/ complainers). Central Scotland Police force was unable to provide information on the number of previous incidents reported by the victim/complainer from 2010-11 onwards (Table 11).

3.5. Perpetrators of racist incidents (tables 12, 13, 14 and 15, and chart 5)

• Information about perpetrators of racist incidents may only be fully available where the incident was resolved, and any crime involved has been cleared up (see note 4.5 for definition of cleared up).

• Where information on the ethnic group of perpetrators was available (4,277 perpetrators) in 2012-13, 95% of perpetrators were of white group, including White British (82%), White Irish (1%) and Other White (13%) (which includes Gypsy / Traveller and Polish White) (Table 12).

• Where age and gender was known (4,269 perpetrators), 21% of perpetrators in 2012-13 were under the age of 16 years, and therefore making them eligible for referral to the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA) rather than the Procurator Fiscal. Males accounted for over three quarters of perpetrators of racist incidents recorded by the police in 2012-13 (Table 14).

• Perpetrators of a racist incident, males were more likely to be aged 16 to 20 years (34 per 10,000 population) and females most likely to be aged 16 to 20 years or 21 to 25 years (both 8 per 10,000 population). The 16 to 20 age group has the highest rate per 10,000 population for both males and females in each year covered by the statistical bulletin (Table 14).

Chart 6 Action taken against perpetrators of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

1. Lothian & Borders Police were unable to provide data on the police action taken with regard to the perpetrator from 2009-10 onwards.

Where action taken by the police was known (3,243 perpetrators), 79% of perpetrators in 2012-13 were referred to the Procurator Fiscal or SCRA, while 2% received a police warning. No further action was taken against 8% of perpetrators of racist incidents recorded by the police in 2012-13 (Table 15). Information from 2009-10 onwards is based on all forces apart from Lothian & Borders, who were unable to provide data on the police action taken with regard to the perpetrator (see note 4.3).

Table 1 Racist incidents recorded, by police force area, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Police force		2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Central	Total Incidents	280	355	357	336	381	267	278	332	313
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	277	354	348	336	381	266	278	323	307
	Total Crimes	402	571	525	522	566	404	337	403	344
Dumfries & Galloway	Total Incidents	78	89	102	64	98	78	66	68	68
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	69	74	76	58	82	67	62	61	65
	Total Crimes	85	91	95	58	95	74	69	64	72
Fife2	Total Incidents	302	241	193	149	138	139	209	220	180
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	276	206	193	149	138	139	209	216	171
	Total Crimes	464	355	271	218	187	177	260	252	173
Grampian	Total Incidents	437	386	439	391	621	624	629	577	446
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	435	386	436	390	607	621	629	577	441
	Total Crimes	701	674	877	735	1,072	1,158	906	801	537
Lothian & Borders	Total Incidents	814	1,292	1,521	1,391	1,112	1,158	1,083	1,337	1,210
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	814	1,292	1,521	1,391	1,112	1,154	1,083	1,337	1,210
	Total Crimes	913	1,306	1,543	1,493	1,366	1,348	1,368	1,579	1,384
Northern	Total Incidents	123	128	123	140	138	89	78	107	119
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	116	128	120	138	138	88	67	90	108
	Total Crimes	217	143	144	188	139	89	94	94	108
Strathclyde	Total Incidents	2,152	2,216	2,213	2,396	2,289	2,321	2,284	2,478	2,038
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	1,939	2,075	2,051	2,193	2,212	2,269	2,190	2,438	1,905
	Total Crimes	2,620	2,900	2,823	3,082	2,824	2,896	2,812	2,969	2,324
Tayside	Total Incidents	333	405	374	380	368	284	284	270	254
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	332	405	374	380	368	284	284	270	254
	Total Crimes	332	404	376	380	368	324	327	310	286
Scotland	Total Incidents	4,519	5,112	5,322	5,247	5,145	4,960	4,911	5,389	4,628
	Incidents which involved 1 or more crimes1	4,258	4,920	5,119	5,035	5,038	4,888	4,802	5,312	4,461
	Total Crimes	5,734	6,444	6,654	6,676	6,617	6,470	6,173	6,472	5,228

1. The number of incidents in which a crime was recorded has been subject to a minor revision between 2004-05 and 2010-11 following the discovery of an error in the way these figures had been extracted in previous years. See note 4.3.

2. A restructuring of recording methodology and data management arrangements in Fife Constabulary from April 2011 resulted in an increase in the number of racist incidents.

Table 2 Racist incidents recorded, by local authority area, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number & Rate per 10,000 population
	2004-05		2005-06		2006-07		2007-08		2008-09		2009-10		2010-11		2011-12		2012-13
Local Authority	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1	Number	Rate per 10,000 population1
Aberdeen City	313	15	267	13	309	15	322	15	483	23	451	21	464	21	429	19	327	15
Aberdeenshire	86	4	75	3	88	4	31	1	107	4	90	4	90	4	96	4	80	3
Angus	46	4	66	6	55	5	50	5	65	6	45	4	49	4	55	5	32	3
Argyll & Bute	33	4	25	3	43	5	34	4	25	3	26	3	32	4	45	5	34	4
Clackmannanshire	50	10	49	10	58	12	58	12	53	10	41	8	35	7	68	13	52	10
Dumfries & Galloway	78	5	89	6	102	7	64	4	98	7	78	5	66	4	68	4	68	5
Dundee City	217	15	246	17	242	17	244	17	215	15	160	11	157	11	154	10	141	10
East Ayrshire	75	6	67	6	78	7	69	6	71	6	81	7	74	6	70	6	53	4
East Dunbartonshire	41	4	33	3	33	3	42	4	38	4	41	4	40	4	31	3	30	3
East Lothian	28	3	38	4	64	7	54	6	35	4	35	4	47	5	53	5	56	6
East Renfrewshire	48	5	55	6	40	4	33	4	36	4	40	4	43	5	48	5	21	2
Edinburgh, City of	599	13	972	21	1,179	25	1,021	22	822	17	898	19	844	17	1,017	21	916	19
Eilean Siar	18	7	12	5	8	3	10	4	11	4	6	2	3	1	-	-	2	1
Falkirk	160	11	182	12	167	11	171	11	215	14	124	8	152	10	151	10	160	10
Fife	302	9	241	7	193	5	149	4	138	4	139	4	209	6	220	6	180	5
Glasgow City	1,226	21	1,277	22	1,209	21	1,301	22	1,256	21	1,318	22	1,328	22	1,499	25	1,220	21
Highland	97	5	107	5	107	5	122	6	123	6	81	4	68	3	94	4	100	4
Inverclyde	32	4	36	4	31	4	52	6	38	5	20	2	27	3	40	5	25	3
Midlothian	52	7	81	10	40	5	65	8	43	5	35	4	46	6	60	7	57	7
Moray	38	4	44	5	42	5	38	4	31	4	83	9	75	9	52	6	39	4
North Ayrshire	91	7	103	8	102	8	99	7	100	7	92	7	88	7	113	8	91	7
North Lanarkshire	181	6	207	6	234	7	282	9	249	8	252	8	220	7	205	6	188	6
Orkney Islands	4	2	4	2	3	2	5	3	2	1	2	1	4	2	8	4	8	4
Perth & Kinross	70	5	93	7	77	5	86	6	88	6	79	5	78	5	61	4	81	5
Renfrewshire	131	8	86	5	130	8	123	7	118	7	122	7	145	9	136	8	150	9
Scottish Borders	26	2	43	4	41	4	47	4	46	4	43	4	38	3	27	2	37	3
Shetland Islands	4	2	5	2	5	2	3	1	2	1	-	-	3	1	5	2	9	4
South Ayrshire	42	4	64	6	45	4	63	6	53	5	77	7	50	4	62	5	47	4
South Lanarkshire	162	5	181	6	199	6	212	7	210	7	179	6	168	5	139	4	127	4
Stirling	70	8	124	14	132	15	107	12	113	13	102	11	91	10	113	13	101	11
West Dunbartonshire	90	10	82	9	69	8	86	9	95	10	73	8	69	8	90	10	52	6
West Lothian	109	7	158	10	197	12	204	12	166	10	147	9	108	6	180	10	144	8
Scotland	4,519	9	5,112	10	5,322	10	5,247	10	5,145	10	4,960	10	4,911	9	5,389	10	4,628	9

1. Population data used to calculate these rates are the relevant mid year population estimates prepared by the National Records of Scotland: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/theme/population/estimates/mid-year/index.html.

Table 3 Racist incidents recorded, by location of incident, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number & Percentage
Location	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-091	2009-102	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	% breakdown 2012-13
Dwelling house (including garden)	804	845	1,418	913	895	715	933	997	993	22
Street	1,396	1,763	1,818	1,626	1,652	1,240	1,623	1,801	1,469	32
Shop	1,101	1,145	823	1,121	718	677	834	919	779	17
Restaurant/Takeaway	388	449	353	389	369	317	390	331	265	6
Other Business	129	164	122	144	430	116	128	189	136	3
Public transport/bus stop	51	74	73	88	143	72	95	97	103	2
School/College	73	71	59	69	65	51	55	77	74	2
Sporting Venue	17	21	22	24	126	19	32	41	27	1
Pub/place of public entertainment	143	185	148	214	195	219	271	359	265	6
Place of Worship	12	28	19	31	13	11	15	21	11	0
Medical Establishment (e.g. hospital, health centre)	47	61	50	59	58	49	72	90	81	2
Other	358	305	417	566	468	331	463	389	378	8
Unknown	-	1	-	3	13	1,143	-	78	47
Total	4,519	5,112	5,322	5,247	5,145	4,960	4,911	5,389	4,628	100%

1. Information for 2008-09 is not directly comparable with previous years due to changes in recording practices for Lothian & Borders Police force. Please see note 4.3.

2. Information on location of incident was not available for 2009-10 for Lothian & Borders Police force. Please see note 4.3.

Table 4 Racist incidents recorded, by quarter, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Quarter1	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
April to June	1,221	1,207	1,303	1,599	1,341	1,354	1,365	1,349	1,256
July to September	1,187	1,508	1,465	1,399	1,230	1,276	1,189	1,468	1,213
October to December	1,138	1,267	1,317	1,147	1,252	1,264	1,210	1,309	1,110
January to March	973	1,130	1,237	1,102	1,322	1,066	1,147	1,263	1,049
Total	4,519	5,112	5,322	5,247	5,145	4,960	4,911	5,389	4,628

1. Where the date was unknown, forces were asked to record as 15th of month; if month was unknown, forces were asked to record as 15th June.

Table 5 Racist incidents recorded, by day of week, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Day1	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Monday	569	639	624	621	642	573	570	687	593
Tuesday	538	576	624	661	595	544	585	597	544
Wednesday	557	600	652	641	593	585	561	649	556
Thursday	571	629	628	635	631	629	626	631	566
Friday	789	915	892	859	855	792	739	869	678
Saturday	834	999	1,088	1,037	984	1,012	973	1,042	930
Sunday	661	754	814	793	845	825	857	914	761
Total	4,519	5,112	5,322	5,247	5,145	4,960	4,911	5,389	4,628

1. Where the date was unknown, forces were asked to record as 15th of month; if month unknown, asked to record as 15th June. The 'day' variable was then calculated from this date. Some days will therefore include unknown values.

Table 6 Racist incidents recorded, by category of person making initial report, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Reporter	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Victim/complainer1	3,833	4,391	4,373	3,987	3,737	2,867	2,778	2,800	2,353
Police	158	220	350	518	671	329	355	462	400
Third part agency report	31	74	38	50	73	80	67	68	52
Witness	282	213	331	404	419	356	453	574	459
Other	215	214	230	285	230	170	175	148	154
Unknown2	-	-	-	3	15	1,158	1,083	1,337	1,210
Total	4,519	5,112	5,322	5,247	5,145	4,960	4,911	5,389	4,628

1. The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist. The complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6.

2. Information on person making initial report was not available for Lothian & Borders Police force for 2009-10 onwards.

Table 7a Crimes recorded by the police as part of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Crimes recorded	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Crimes of violence and sexual offences	69	83	77	65	84	60	74	73	44
Crimes of dishonesty	62	67	83	73	72	91	48	52	40
Fire-raising, vandalism etc.	468	571	473	456	366	403	353	325	211
Other crimes	82	96	105	84	69	94	46	34	24
Total offences - of which	5,053	5,627	5,916	5,989	6,026	5,822	5,652	5,988	4,909
Common assault	750	876	908	812	739	884	848	803	608
Breach of the peace etc.1	915	795	859	1,066	1,125	829	820	1,201	1,285
Racially aggravated harassment	360	300	237	247	228	183	159	121	119
Racially aggravated conduct	2,969	3,583	3,808	3,778	3,815	3,801	3,683	3,658	2,694
Other offences	59	73	104	86	119	125	142	205	203
Unknown crimes/offences	-	-	-	6	-	-	-	-	-
Total	5,734	6,444	6,654	6,673	6,617	6,470	6,173	6,472	5,228

1. Includes Breach of the peace, Threatening or abusive behaviour, Offence of stalking, Offensive behaviour at football and Threatening communications (Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act 2012). See note 4.8.

Table 7b Clear-up rate of crimes recorded by the police as part of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Percentage
Crimes cleared up	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Crimes of violence and sexual offences	49	34	48	55	62	70	69	73	73
Crimes of dishonesty	48	46	47	48	63	65	52	62	60
Fire-raising, vandalism etc.	33	32	38	36	35	47	37	38	43
Other crimes	82	81	90	85	86	94	89	85	100
Total offences - of which	56	56	60	60	65	68	69	70	72
Common assault	51	53	55	57	63	69	68	69	71
Breach of the peace etc.1	62	56	67	62	71	73	70	60	64
Racially aggravated harassment	57	46	57	57	61	63	67	62	74
Racially aggravated conduct	56	58	60	60	64	68	70	75	77
Other offences	24	32	38	29	46	61	44	51	57
Total	54	54	58	58	63	67	67	68	71

1. Includes Breach of the peace, Threatening or abusive behaviour, Offence of stalking, Offensive behaviour at football and Threatening communications (Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act 2012). See note 4.8.

Table 8 Ethnic group of victims/complainers¹ of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number & Percentage
Ethnic Group2	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	% breakdown (where known) 2012-13
White British	826	1,030	983	1,030	1,095	1,158	1,048	1,295	1,139	23
White Irish	63	91	139	121	124	87	131	95	75	1
Other White3	130	122	414	477	509	534	546	700	706	14
Mixed	127	149	170	152	150	129	248	151	173	3
Pakistani	1,773	1,545	1,833	1,654	1,584	1,458	1,376	1,357	1,155	23
Indian	443	431	507	488	609	557	536	486	367	7
Bangladeshi	67	26	67	48	54	62	95	57	43	1
Chinese	151	153	183	117	152	127	110	153	84	2
Other Asian	508	984	532	559	505	497	503	520	395	8
African	321	325	404	443	478	505	416	539	476	10
Caribbean	92	171	59	53	59	46	46	35	24	*
Other Black	118	68	111	181	160	115	249	174	140	3
Other	295	379	339	290	290	323	335	327	227	5
Unknown	145	346	222	177	226	185	267	422	308
Total	5,059	5,820	5,963	5,790	5,995	5,783	5,906	6,311	5,312	100

1. The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist. The complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6.

2. See note 4.6 for detail of changes to ethnic group classifications implemented in 2009-10.

3. Includes Gypsy/Traveller, Polish White and Other White.

Further breakdown of ethnic group of victims/complainers of racist incidents

In 2009-10, forces were asked to use the more detailed classification of 21 groups when returning data on the ethnic group of victims/complainers and perpetrators of racist incidents. Due to differences in the recording systems used, not all police forces have been able to provide data using the more detailed classification codes since 2009-10. See note 4.6.

Data provision of ethnic group of victims/complainers and perpetrators, based on 21 category classification

	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Police Force	✔	✔	✔	✔
Central	✔	✔	✔	✔
Dumfries & Galloway	✔	✔	✔	✔
Fife	✔	✔	✔	✔
Lothian & Borders	✔	✔	✔	✔
Northern	✔	✔	✔	✔
Tayside	x	✔	✔	✔
Grampian	x	x	x	✔
Strathclyde	x	x	x	x

Table 8a provides a more detailed breakdown of ethnic group where this is available. However, these figures should be treated with caution due to the variation in the number of police forces able to supply the data at this level over the four year period. The inclusion of forces with differing population structures may affect the overall distribution of ethnic classification over time.

In addition, it would not be sensible to use this data as a proxy for Scotland. Strathclyde accounts for 45% (2,395) of all victims/complainers of racist incidents. Due to its population size, (42% of the Scottish population) and diverse ethnic breakdown of population, it is likely that inclusion of Strathclyde would alter this distribution considerably.

• In 2012-13, in the seven police forces which were able to provide a more detailed breakdown of ethnic classification, 35% of victims/complainers were of an Asian ethnic group (that is Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese or Other Asian), the largest of these groups being Pakistani, accounting for 19% of victims/complainers. This reflects the overall Scottish picture. A further 23% of victims/complainers of racist incidents were White British, the largest group being White Scottish (13%).
• Overall, the percentage breakdowns over the four year period are fairly stable. Smaller percentages should be treated with caution since these relate to smaller numbers and will therefore be more volatile over time. Due to the change in numbers of forces able to provide the data at this level over the four year time period, time series should be treated with caution. It is not possible to know if a year on year change is a genuine change or if it is due to the different population structures as more forces were able to begin to provide more detailed data.
• It is important to note that Ethnicity is a self-defined category; therefore any breakdown of broader ethnic groups will be dependent on how victims/complainers choose to define themselves.

Table 8a Further breakdown of ethnic group of victims/complainers¹ of racist incidents for selected² police force areas in Scotland, 2009-10 to 2012-13

Percentage breakdown
Ethnic Group	2009-103	2010-114	2011-124	2012-135
White Scottish	11	11	13	13
White English	4	4	3	5
White Welsh/White Northern Irish6	1	1	*	2
White British	4	4	5	4
White Irish	1	2	2	1
White Gypsy/Traveller	*	*	*	*
White Polish	1	1	1	4
Other White	14	15	14	16
Mixed	2	2	2	3
Pakistani, Pakistani Scottish or Pakistani British	24	22	20	19
Indian, Indian Scottish or Indian British	8	8	6	6
Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi Scottish or Bangladeshi British	1	2	1	1
Chinese, Chinese Scottish or Chinese British	4	2	3	2
Other Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	11	9	9	7
African, African Scottish or African British	7	6	7	9
Caribbean, Caribbean Scottish or Caribbean British	1	1	1	*
Black, Black Scottish or Black British	*	4	2	1
Other African, Caribbean or Black	2	*	2	2
Other7	4	7	7	4
All victims/complainers (Base=100%)	2,104	2,500	2,697	2,917
Number of police forces able to provide detailed breakdown2	5	6	6	7

1. The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist. The complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6.

2. Due to differences in the recording systems used, not all police forces have been able to provide data using the more detailed classification codes since 2009-10. See note 4.6.

3. In 2009-10, Grampian, Tayside and Strathclyde were unable to provide data using the detailed classification of ethnic group.

4. In 2010-11 and 2011-12, Grampian and Strathclyde were unable to provide data using the detailed classification of ethnic group.

5. In 2012-13, Strathclyde was unable to provide data using the detailed classification of ethnic group.

6. Includes Welsh White and Northern Irish White. Due to small numbers these categories have been combined.

7. Includes Arab and Other. Due to small numbers, these categories have been combined.

Table 9 Main language of victims/complainers¹ of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Language	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
English	4,238	4,770	5,058	3,880	3,846	3,559	3,399	4,022	3,263
Other	652	728	637	1,562	806	505	498	510	375
Unknown2,3	169	322	268	348	1,343	1,719	2,009	1,779	1,674
Total	5,059	5,820	5,963	5,790	5,995	5,783	5,906	6,311	5,312

1. The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist. The complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6.

2. Lothian & Borders Police force have been unable to provide data on main language of victim/complainer from 2008-09 onwards and these victims/complainers have therefore been included as 'unknown'.

3. Central Scotland Police force have been unable to provide information from 2010-11 onwards on the main language of victim/complainer, and these victims/complainers have therefore been included as 'unknown'.

Table 10 Age and gender of victims/complainers¹ of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number & Rate per 10,000 population
Gender	Age	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	Rate per 10,000 population (2012-13)
Male	Under 16	198	218	269	172	217	211	229	220	184	4
	16 to 20	279	332	346	306	288	285	286	277	169	10
	21 to 25	482	525	664	634	688	649	615	637	490	27
	26 to 35	1,172	1,286	1,413	1,315	1,484	1,450	1,545	1,566	1,366	42
	36 to 50	1,124	1,285	1,207	1,267	1,328	1,210	1,216	1,294	1,073	19
	Over 50	356	346	313	369	341	330	346	420	300	3
	Total Male	3,611	3,992	4,212	4,063	4,346	4,135	4,237	4,414	3,582	14
Female	Under 16	116	135	200	115	126	115	153	133	111	2
	16 to 20	96	109	140	128	108	128	126	116	132	8
	21 to 25	165	188	182	203	199	168	183	238	169	9
	26 to 35	364	416	383	427	391	427	398	485	462	14
	36 to 50	363	455	415	412	413	427	444	475	454	8
	Over 50	111	105	108	91	115	128	118	106	124	1
	Total Female	1,215	1,408	1,428	1,376	1,352	1,393	1,422	1,553	1,452	5
Unknown gender/age		233	420	323	351	297	255	247	344	278
Total		5,059	5,820	5,963	5,790	5,995	5,783	5,906	6,311	5,312	10

1. The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist. The complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6.

Table 11 Number of previous incidents¹ reported to police by victim/complainer², Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Number of incidents	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
None - first report	3,543	4,157	4,350	3,918	4,043	3,910	3,959	4,073	3,460
1	447	508	517	475	544	541	518	542	441
2	216	241	245	250	240	253	218	255	196
3	121	132	130	143	152	151	134	142	97
4	73	96	74	91	97	79	77	77	70
5	52	61	49	66	69	75	53	54	54
6	47	47	49	34	42	53	37	35	33
7	32	34	36	19	27	41	37	34	24
8	24	21	31	21	24	28	37	27	16
9	20	20	24	16	19	22	22	19	12
10 or more	110	105	150	136	172	124	126	158	95
Repeat incidents but number unknown	288	250	286	602	542	405	367	512	451
Unknown3	86	148	22	19	24	101	321	383	363
Total	5,059	5,820	5,963	5,790	5,995	5,783	5,906	6,311	5,312

1. Previous incidents occurring within the previous two years.

2. The victim/complainer is the person who perceived the incident to be racist. The complainer may not necessarily be the person(s) at whom the racist incident was targeted. See note 4.6.

3. Central Scotland Police force have been unable to provide information on the number of previous incidents reported by the victim/complainer from 2010-11 onwards, and these victims/complainers have therefore been included as 'unknown'.

Table 12 Ethnic group of perpetrators of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number & Percentage
Ethnic Group1	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	% breakdown 2012-13
White British	3,060	3,743	4,320	4,281	4,161	4,219	4,183	4,075	3,498	82
White Irish	16	32	32	58	43	36	71	38	22	1
Other White2,3	19	20	101	61	104	125	661	538	552	13
Mixed	42	14	13	16	24	20	17	18	15	*
Asian4	73	106	132	100	117	99	99	145	103	2
Black5	25	27	69	48	38	46	64	48	55	1
Other	11	22	11	14	26	23	30	26	32	1
Unknown	75	136	404	435	934	936	437	393	264
Total	3,321	4,100	5,082	5,013	5,447	5,504	5,562	5,281	4,541	100

1. See note 4.6 for detail of changes to ethnic group classifications implemented in 2009-10.

2. Following a transition to the 21 group ethnic classification codes, Central Scotland police force and Lothian & Borders Police force have each had a larger number of perpetrators classing themselves as 'Other White'.

3. Includes Gypsy/Traveller, Polish White and Other White.

4. Includes Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese and Other Asian.

5. Includes Black African, Black Caribbean and Other Black.

Table 13 Main language of perpetrators of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Language	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2011-12
English	3,175	3,988	4,651	4,607	3,463	3,154	3,372	3,516	3,045
Other	56	20	38	56	45	31	46	45	40
Unknown1	90	92	393	350	1,939	2,319	2,144	1,720	1,456
Total	3,321	4,100	5,082	5,013	5,447	5,504	5,562	5,281	4,541

1. Lothian & Borders Police force have been unable to provide information on main language of the perpetrator from 2008-09 onwards and these perpetrators have therefore been included as 'unknown'.

Table 14 Age and gender of perpetrators of racist incidents, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number & Rate per 10,000 population
Gender	Age	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	Rate per 10,000 population (2012-13)
Male	Under 16	591	694	934	791	864	913	900	762	681	15
	16 to 20	643	939	911	841	939	1,016	970	765	567	34
	21 to 25	341	401	465	501	561	580	586	585	469	26
	26 to 35	435	489	612	564	666	659	679	735	661	20
	36 to 50	384	464	592	619	626	704	682	708	618	11
	Over 50	121	121	202	223	222	203	238	278	283	3
	Total Male	2,515	3,108	3,716	3,539	3,878	4,075	4,055	3,833	3,279	13
Female	Under 16	162	286	303	228	263	254	288	258	206	5
	16 to 20	112	174	223	186	206	209	177	161	137	8
	21 to 25	67	78	83	100	112	115	130	143	139	8
	26 to 35	158	130	145	174	162	179	192	206	202	6
	36 to 50	132	158	189	191	205	214	213	229	225	4
	Over 50	31	42	50	55	70	73	57	78	81	1
	Total Female	662	868	993	934	1,018	1,044	1,057	1,075	990	4
Unknown gender/age		144	124	373	540	551	385	450	373	272
Total		3,321	4,100	5,082	5,013	5,447	5,504	5,562	5,281	4,541	10

Table 15 Police action taken with regard to perpetrator, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2012-13

Number
Action taken	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13
Referral to Procurator Fiscal or SCRA	2,512	3,181	3,353	3,446	3,652	2,477	2,699	2,846	2,570
Police warning	141	62	123	82	101	44	91	52	64
Referred to other agency for action	74	92	2	9	5	8	13	49	14
Other action	370	509	553	716	922	787	509	479	337
No further action	138	141	854	731	721	141	359	358	258
Unknown1	86	115	197	29	46	2,047	1,891	1,497	1,298
Total	3,321	4,100	5,082	5,013	5,447	5,504	5,562	5,281	4,541

1. Lothian & Borders Police force have been unable to provide data on police action taken from 2009-10 onwards, and the action taken with regard to perpetrators of these incidents has therefore been included as 'unknown'.