Senior police leaders in the United Kingdom are poised to formally recommend the abolition of the controversial 'non-crime hate incident' category, arguing that forces should not be policing social media posts and minor disputes.
What Are Non-Crime Hate Incidents?
Non-crime hate incidents are records of actions or communications perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice based on characteristics like race, religion, or gender, but which do not meet the criminal threshold. These records have been a source of significant debate, with critics arguing they infringe on free speech and draw police into trivial matters.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing will publish a review next month which will be presented to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood. The review is expected to propose replacing the current system with a new framework focused on intelligence gathering and a 'commonsense' checklist for officers.
A Push for 'Commonsense' Policing
Under the proposed new scheme, only the most serious incidents would be formally recorded, likely categorised as antisocial behaviour. Less serious reports would be treated as intelligence rather than logged on a crime database.
Nick Herbert, the chair of the College of Policing, emphasised the need for change in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "The home secretary has already indicated that she wants to ensure that the police are focused on the right things and not on the trivial," he stated.
Herbert added: "It was quite clear that the whole regime needed looking at, that there was a perception that the police were being drawn into matters that they shouldn’t have been. I don’t think the police service wanted to be drawn into them. They don’t want to be policing tweets."
Catalysts for Change
The review follows significant developments that increased scrutiny on the policy. In October, the Metropolitan Police announced it would no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents.
Furthermore, the case involving Graham Linehan, the creator of Father Ted, brought the issue to national attention. Linehan was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September over social media posts concerning transgender issues. While he faced no further action for a potential criminal offence, the case was reportedly downgraded to a non-crime hate incident investigation, highlighting the blurred lines of the system.
The proposed overhaul has support from other senior figures in policing oversight. Earlier this year, Andy Cooke of HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said, "I’m a firm believer that non-crime hate incidents are no longer required and that intelligence can be gathered in a different way, which would cause less concern to the public."
The final recommendations, due next month, mark a potential significant shift in how police in England and Wales handle reports of hate that fall short of criminality, aiming to refocus resources on more serious offences.
