Source: Edinburgh Evening News

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1759112006

HATE crimes committed by religious bigots have almost doubled in Scotland in the space of a year.

A total of 234 offences were reported to police in the first six months of 2005, latest figures have shown. However, in Edinburgh religious crime remains low. In January to June last year there were just three offences committed in the Capital - 1.3 per cent of the Scottish total.

There were 130 offences reported in January to June 2004, but that figure rose to 168 in the following six months, before increasing again in 2005.

Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said: "We can clearly see that crimes motivated by bigotry and religious intolerance are not only being punished, but they are being publicly recorded as the disgrace they are. This research shows that we were right to identify the problem in our midst.