ON Monday, April 1, the SNP’s new hate crime law came into force.

This dangerous law is a threat to free speech and puts at risk our fundamental rights. 

No one is questioning the good intentions behind the law. The problem is that it hasn’t struck the right balance by protecting free speech.

The number of complaints is already starting to overwhelm Police Scotland, just days after the law was introduced. 

It hasn’t struck the right balance because it could criminalise people for fair and reasonable opinions which others deem to be offensive. 

And in terms of police resources, when a hate crime complaint is made here in Ayrshire, that diverts resources away from front-line policing.

In the first week of the law coming into force, 8,000 complaints were made to Police Scotland.

I’m concerned about the impact that this will have on policing here in Cumnock and across Ayrshire going forward.

Cumnock Chronicle: MSP Sharon Dowey is worried about the effects it could have on policing.MSP Sharon Dowey is worried about the effects it could have on policing. (Image: MSP Sharon Dowey)

It’s now estimated that over one million complaints could be made this year relating to hate crime. That’s four times the amount of other crimes reported in total.

Considering Police Scotland have already rolled out a pilot where minor offending isn’t investigated in the North East, this new hate crime law is only going to make matters worse.

We need the SNP to focus on front-line policing here in Cumnock.

With police officer numbers now at their lowest level since 2008, I’m worried about how stretched the force could become. 

That’s why this hate crime law has created the perfect storm – it’s overwhelming Police Scotland when they need more time to focus on deterring, investigating and charging those responsible for committing real crime. 

With that in mind, the SNP need to forget about policing free speech and focus on getting bobbies on the beat and tackling the increase in serious assault that we’ve seen in East Ayrshire this year.

My Scottish Conservative colleagues and I will always stand up for free speech here in Ayrshire and across Scotland, and I’ll continue to call on the SNP to invest in front line policing rather than piling more pressure on the officers already in the job.