University hate convictions

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Hello,

I hope whoever is reading this is keeping well.

This is a request for information under the FOI Act.

Please can you answer the following questions for the academic years of: 2018/9, 2019/20, 2020/21:

1) Over this time period, how many people (undergraduate students and postgraduate students) applied to enroll to an undergraduate course at your university who was found (either by self-declaration or when prompted to disclose any criminal convictions) to have had a conviction for any sort of religious or racial hate crime incident or abuse. Can you provide the information in terms of individuals applying to enrol at your university to start at the beginning of these academic years. i.e. this includes those applying in, say December 2017, for enrollment in 2018/9. I want to be clear that I am asking about students who declare (or who have been found to have) a criminal conviction, through their application to the University.

I am defining 'religious hate crime or abuse' as any crime relating to verbal and physical abuse, bullying, threatening behaviour, online abuse or damage to property on the grounds of race or religion.

When answering Q1, please can you state the types of convictions disclosed (and how many times this type of conviction was disclosed).

2) How many of the people identified in Q1 were subsequently allocated to live in (university maintained/owned) residential settings (either in apartments or shared accommodation blocks on campus, for example) with students who identified as being from a 'BAME' background or a 'religious' background?

When answering Q2, please can you specify the type of residential setting, and whether the student who was allocated a house with the student convicted of a hate/religious crime identified as 'black' or 'Asian' or another ethnic minority, and the type of religion (i.e. 'christian' or 'Muslim') they identified as.

Best,

Yohannes

Freedom of Information, Heriot-Watt University

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Freedom of Information, Heriot-Watt University

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Dear Yohannes

Thank you for your recent information request regarding hate
convictions. Your request has been handled under the Freedom of
Information (Scotland) Act 2002. 

Please see our responses in red below, detailed beneath the original
questions you raised.    

  

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Yohannes Lowe <[FOI #776409 email]>
Sent: 22 July 2021 09:26
To: Freedom of Information <[email address]>
Subject: Freedom of Information request - University hate convictions
 
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Hello,

I hope whoever is reading this is keeping well.

This is a request for information under the FOI Act.

Please can you answer the following questions for the academic years of:
2018/9, 2019/20, 2020/21:

1) Over this time period, how many people (undergraduate students and
postgraduate students) applied to enroll to an undergraduate course at
your university who was found (either by self-declaration or when prompted
to disclose any criminal convictions) to have had a conviction for any
sort of religious or racial hate crime incident or abuse. Can you provide
the information in terms of individuals applying to enrol at your
university to start at the beginning of these academic years. i.e. this
includes those applying in, say December 2017, for enrollment in 2018/9. I
want to be clear that I am asking about students who declare (or who have
been found to have) a criminal conviction, through their application to
the University.

I am defining 'religious hate crime or abuse' as any crime relating to
verbal and physical abuse, bullying, threatening behaviour, online abuse
or damage to property on the grounds of race or religion.

When answering Q1, please can you state the types of convictions disclosed
(and how many times this type of conviction was disclosed). 
2018/2019 = 0. We ceased asking applicants to declare criminal convictions
at point of application from the 2019/2020 cycle onwards

 

2) How many of the people identified in Q1 were subsequently allocated to
live in (university maintained/owned) residential settings (either in
apartments or shared accommodation blocks on campus, for example) with
students who identified as being from a 'BAME' background or a 'religious'
background?
When answering Q2, please can you specify the type of residential setting,
and whether the student who was allocated a house with the student
convicted of a hate/religious crime identified as 'black' or 'Asian' or
another ethnic minority, and the type of religion (i.e. 'christian' or
'Muslim') they identified as.
N/A 

Best,

Yohannes

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