Above, the logo of Police Scotland superimposed on a scene in Glencoe.
Dear Reader, if you have not been to Glencoe, you should. I recommend it. At the height of a Scottish summer it is glorious – although be aware that near water, there is always the dreaded Scottish midge!
I went fairly well into autumn (fall), a time of the year when the dreaded midges are not around! October in Scotland invariably brings forth dull wet weather and although dry sunny weather is desired for most holiday locations, for Glencoe my recommendation is always dull wet weather!
Why?
Well before the arrival of Hapless Humza (https://www.gov.scot/about/who-runs-government/first-minister/), I would have said because of the history (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Glencoe). However with the arrival of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/14/part/3), I reckon that the sense of doom that and Glencoe with storm clouds above it conveys the sense of doom and foreboding that many Scots will be feeling now. One group of people who will not be fleeing too gloomy however are Scottish criminal defence lawyers for they are going to find themselves with a lot of new clients!
You see, we already have a very good idea how Police Scotland will enforce this new law: with zeal and robustness! They will respond to complaints from the VEOPs (Very Easily Offended Persons) and visit the accused in their homes, caution them, arrest them and then detain them at the police station for questioning!
In many cases, after a period of several hours they will be released on police bail and told to report to the police station (advised with their lawyer) at a later date to ascertain whether or not they are to be charged with an offence. In many (most?) cases when the suspect returns to the police station they will be told that the authorities have decided not to press charges at that time.
This because the prosecuting authority will report to the police officers concerned that there is no realistic prospect of securing a conviction. In a number of cases however this will not be the case and the person (and their lawyer) will be informed that they are to be charged.
In most cases (when the prosecution is not seeking trial on an indictment) the lawyer will advise their client to accept an appearance (in Scotland) at a summary proceeding at a Sheriff court (https://www.copfs.gov.uk/the-justice-process/scotland-s-criminal-justice-system/) and not to seek a trial before a jury.
Why?
Because if the accused intends to plead guilty the sentence will be lesser and their legal costs substantially lower.
If the accused intends to plead not guilty (because the charge appears very “political”) then the lawyer will likely suggest that the accused accepts trial on a summary charge. This because the penalty if convicted will be less severe and that if the accused it determined to establish their innocence then the most effective way will be to appeal the verdict at the High Court of Justiciary.
This strategy has been repeatedly employed with success by various street preachers across the UK. These evangelical Christians often land themselves inside a police cell for reading out Leviticus 20:13 in public.
Arrest will invariably if the preacher reads from the King James version: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” Arrest will often follow if they quote more modern versions. Such preachers have been convicted of a summary offence and fined. They tend to appeal and the judge tends to quash the conviction. These preachers are invariably supported by well wishers both emotionally and financially.
Warning to foreign (those other than citizens of His Majesty’s realms and the Republic of Ireland) Christians: Do NOT read out “politically incorrect” verses from the Bible in the UK! Unless of course you wish to add the experience of being arrested, put in a police van, taken to a police station and questioned under caution – the whole experience taking several hours – to your holiday/vacation in the UK! I suppose for those determined to experience “something different” this prospect might appeal!
Of course, being visited by the police, arrested, charged, tried, convicted, sentenced – then undergoing the stress of an appeal and the subsequent quashing of the conviction is an exhausting and expensive experience!
But that is THE POINT of the exercise!
The authorities know that most arrests will not lead to a conviction but the intention of the law is to intimidate the populace!
The tragedy of the situation is that the so called “tolerant” democratic UK is acting like so many repressive regimes across the world. We expect this sort of thing to happen in Venezuela…. We do NOT expect it to happen in Veryan in Cornwall (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veryan)!
One is tempted to ask: Why have so many of our brave serviceman given their tomorrows for our todays if today, we are hauled off to the police station for saying something a VEOP gets offend at?
NB: Just in case Dear Reader you are living in England or Wales and think that the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 does NOT affect you, be warned: It could! Author, broadcaster and human rights activist and former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan and former Rector of the University of Dundee, Mr Craig Murray has some sobering news for you!
GOTO: https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2024/03/scotlands-hate-speech-act-and-abuse-of-process/
You have been warned!