MORE than 500 hate crimes have taken place in Renfrewshire over the past four years, The Gazette can reveal.


The shocking figures have led to campaigners calling for action to tackle the level of hatred being shown towards some people through ignorance and intolerance.


Priya Khindria, campaign manager of Show Racism the Red Card Scotland, said more needs to be done to educate people of all ages about the misery spread by hate crime.

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She told The Gazette: “We believe that racism is one of the most pressing issues that needs to be addressed.


“It is not simply enough to react to incidents that are reported – if we are to truly make a change, more time and resources needs to be dedicated to preventative work.


“Anti-racist education for young people and adults needs to be a priority. Punishment shows people that their actions are wrong after acting but education can teach them not to act that way in the first place and can change attitudes.”


Figures obtained through Freedom of Information legislation show that, since 2014, there have been 506 hate crimes in Renfrewshire – and almost 60 per cent of these were racially motivated.


Alcohol is said to be one of the contributing factors, with experts adding it is likely there are many more victims of hate crime who have yet to come forward.


Stephen Cruickshank, chairman of the Renfrewshire Access Panel, said: “Trying to get people to admit they have been victims of a hate crime and to admit we have a problem and need to do something about it can be difficult.


“The majority of it is centred around takeaways and shops, where people have a few drinks in them and then might get refused custom and it then becomes racial.”

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Police have said they will continue to work closely with community groups in Renfrewshire to tackle the problem.


Superintendent Derek Lang added: “This proactivity may be a significant contributory factor to the increase in reporting as people are more aware of how seriously we treat hate crime and have the confidence from the experience of others to come forward.”