Racist Incidents Recorded by the Police in Scotland, 2013-14

Key Points

• There were 4,807 racist incidents recorded by the police in 2013-14. This is an increase of 3.9% compared to 2012-13 when 4,628 incidents were recorded, and the third lowest since 2004-05.
• In 2013-14, 94.7% of racist incidents recorded by the police resulted in at least one crime being recorded. A total of 5,520 crimes were recorded as part of a racist incident in 2013-14, a 5.6% increase on the 5,228 crimes recorded in 2012-13.
• There was a 77.0% clear-up rate on crimes recorded as part of a racist incident.
• The most common crimes/offences recorded in 2013-14 from racist incidents were 'racially aggravated conduct' (47.8%), 'breach of the peace etc.' (28.1%) and 'common assault' (12.3%).
• In 2013-14, 36.0% of all racist incidents recorded by the police occurred on a street, 20.5% took place in a dwelling house and a further 13.5% in a shop.
• Where age and gender was known, males were more likely to be a victim/complainer of a racist incident with 14.5 victims/complainers per 10,000 population, compared to 5.8 victims/complainers per 10,000 population for females. Males aged 26-35 had the highest rate with 38.8 victims/complainers per 10,000 population, while the corresponding highest rate for females, also aged 26-35, was 14.0 victims/complainers per 10,000 population.
• In 2013-14, where the ethnicity of the victim/complainer was known, those with a 'Pakistani' ethnic background were the most likely to be the victim/complainer of a racist incident recorded by the police with 224.2 victims/complainers per 10,000 population. This was followed by 'African, Caribbean or Other Black' with 189.9 victims/complainers recorded per 10,000 population. The Scottish average across all ethnic backgrounds was 10.6 victims/complainers per 10,000 population.
• Where the age and gender was known, males were more likely to be a perpetrator of a racist incident with 13.0 perpetrators per 10,000 population, compared to 3.6 per 10,000 population for females. Males aged 16-20 had the highest rate with 35.2 perpetrators per 10,000 population, while the corresponding highest rate for females, also aged 16-20, was 10.0 perpetrators per 10,000 population.
• Where the action taken by the police against the perpetrator was known, 81.3% of perpetrators in 2013-14 were referred to the Procurator Fiscal or the Scottish Children's Reporter Administration (SCRA). No further action was taken against 7.1% of perpetrators.

Chart 1: Racist incidents recorded by the police, Scotland, 2004-05 to 2013-14