Tory councilor says homophobic hate crime laws are ‘one-sided’

Tory councilor says ‘one-sided’ approach to homophobic hate crimes ‘needs to be looked at’.

Girvan councilor Gavin Scott made the comments during a report by Police Scotland Chief Superintendent Raymond Higgins to South Ayrshire Council’s Service Performance and Partnerships Committee.

Superintendent Higgins said there had been a marked increase in hate crime in South Ayrshire, although he stressed that a change in reporting procedures meant the comparative figures were not entirely accurate .

The report said: “Based on the information available to us, there appears to have been a marked increase in hate crime in South Ayrshire.

“In the year 2023/24, a total of 58 crimes were recorded, while in 2024/25 there have been 72 so far. »

The number of homophobic crimes has remained relatively stable, with 16 recorded in 2024/25 compared to 15 in 2023/24.

Racial crimes have decreased, but remain the most prevalent with 31 incidents recorded. Disability offenses become the second largest form of hate crime recorded, increasing from 7 in 2023/24 to 22 in 2024/25.

Although many offenses targeted police officers, in every category the victims were members of the public.

Councilor Scott asked the Chief Superintendent to provide details of the homophobic offences.

He said: “Homophobic crime involves people making comments about people’s sexual orientation. »

Cllr Scott replied: “It seems very one-sided. This makes me feel like the straight guy is in the wrong, even though he didn’t say anything.

“This tends to favor homosexuals. Now I worked for an airline, and the number of times I was approached by the opposite sex, we would be there from today until eternity.

“I just think it needs to be looked at. If you could do that for me, gentlemen, please.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service contacted Councilor Scott to clarify the points he had raised at the meeting, asking him to expand on his argument that the situation was “one-sided” and why he had raised the point of being approached ” by the opposite sex.

Cllr Scott said he was looking into the matter for clarification and suggested Police Scotland might “find them useful and perhaps beneficial in a cost-effective way”.

The Girvan councilor also said he would present his research findings to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.