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WORKING GROUP ON HATE CRIME REPORT
7. AREAS OUTSIDE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Summary of consultation responses
Most consultation responses recognised the good work being done outside the criminal justice system and generally advocated "more of the same" particularly in relation to community wardens, Anti-social behaviour orders and community safety partnerships, all of which have a positive impact in terms of reducing hate crime. From the other responses, we make a number of other recommendations.
7.1 We believe that it is important to tackle prejudice at an early age before it becomes too entrenched. We note with concern that a number of the respondents to the "EasyRead" consultation paper and the Capability Scotland/Disability Rights Commission research had suffered from name-calling or harassment perpetrated by young people.
Recommendation 11: The Scottish Executive should consider introducing a citizenship programme for schools which can incorporate work on combating prejudice at a young age.
7.2 A number of the respondents to the main consultation paper praised the Scottish Executive attitudinal campaigns. We agree and think it would be beneficial to conduct similar campaigns about prejudice against the disabled and LGBT communities.
Recommendation 12: The Scottish Executive should implement attitudinal campaigns against prejudice using learning from the One Scotland Many Cultures and "See Me..." campaigns, focusing on the LGBT community and disabled people.
7.3 Negative reporting is very effective at entrenching society's prejudices. It is important that the media leads from the front in combating prejudice.
Recommendation 13: The Scottish Executive should convene a meeting with the major media organisations in Scotland to highlight the damage of negative media reporting in relation to disabled people and to the LGBT community, and encourage more responsible images and reporting.
7.4 Making hate crime a priority in Community Safety Partnerships should encourage Local Authorities to make a conscious decision regarding preventative measures to tackle hate crime.
Recommendation 14: The Scottish Executive should identify hate crime as one of the priorities to be addressed by Community Safety Partnerships. Community Safety Partnerships should ensure that their action plans and consultation mechanisms address the needs and seek the views of communities which have been or may be particularly affected by such crimes.
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