Sickening incidents spark plea to victims

A top cop has vowed to clampdown on hate crimes after an upturn in incidents in Renfrewshire following the London terror attack.

Chief Inspector Martin Gallagher, who is based in Mill Street, spoke exclusively to the Paisley Daily Express as part of a national Hate Crime Awareness Week.

The lat e s t f i g u res for Renfrewshire showed that 75 incidents were reported to police over a four- month period and victims were targeted because of their race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or a disability.

The statistics were recorded before five people died — including the attacker — and 50 people were injured in a terror attack near the Houses of Parliament on March 22.

But, just four days later, a Paisley taxi driver was abused and labelled a “terrorist” by twisted yobs.

The Asian cabbie picked up a group of four drunken louts in Foxbar before being subjected to a torrent of abuse and having his beard pulled during the racist outburst.

Chief Inspector Gallagher yesterday revealed the attack was one of a number of incidents which highlighted the importance of stamping out hate crime in Renfrewshire.

He said: “Since the attack in London, there have been isolated incidents of racism which I would describe as unusual for the area, so it’s something we’re definitely keeping an eye on.

“When tragic events like the London attacks happen it can exacerbate any existing tensions.

“That is what terrorists are trying to achieve by driving a wedge into communities.

“However, through a group we have called Grey Space, we are able to work with leaders of faith groups, who can then pass information on to their communities.”

The latest report to the Grey Space group revealed that 36 racially motivated attacks were recorded between October and January.

Twenty- one victims were abused because of their sexual orientation, while nine people were targeted for their beliefs and another nine were subjected to attacks because they were disabled.

There were no recorded incidents of transgender people being abused.

Members of the groups were given several sickening examples of hate crimes in the area.

One Afghan male was with his wife and three young children and was attempting to park his car when another driver, who also wanted to park in the space, got out of his car and started banging on the passenger window.

The stunned complainer opened the window and the brute began to shout, swear and racially abuse the family.

One of the children in the car was so scared she vomited.

During another outburst, which was motivated by religion, a drunk man got into a punch up with another man in an off- licence before shouting abuse about Catholics.

And, in a homophobic attack, police were called to a home invasion where a woman spat in the face of another woman because she was gay.

Police Scotland bosses believe a week-long awareness campaign to highlight the abuse will show support to victims.

Nationally, around 6,000 people per year are victims of hate crime.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “There are a number of reasons why people don’t report incidents of hate crime, including the ‘normalisation’ of this kind of behaviour.

“However, we are very clear when we say this behaviour is not normal or acceptable and it will not be tolerated.

“One of the key aims of this campaign is to highlight what is a hate crime and to increase confidence in reporting these incidents.

“Under-reporting contributes to inequality and intolerance and we are determined to address this.

“Ignoring the problem can often make it worse.

“Hate crime is a key priority for Police Scotland.

“The deep personal impact it can have on victims, their family, friends and on entire communities cannot be underestimated.”

Hate crime can be reported at any police station or via 101.