The number of non-crime hate incidents recorded by police has surged in half of Britain’s forces despite attempts by the previous Government to crack down on the practice, official data show. The Telegraph has the story.
Officers have been required since 2023 only to log hate incidents that are below the criminal threshold if there is a serious risk of significant harm that could escalate into criminality and not just because someone feels offended.
However, data obtained by the Telegraph through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests show that the incidents recorded by officers have nearly doubled in two forces – Cleveland and Lincolnshire – and increased by between 2% and 66% in half of forces.
The analysis indicates that the 43 forces in England and Wales have recorded more than 133,000 non-crime hate incidents (NCHI) since they were introduced in 2014, an average of 13,000 a year.
That represents some 666,000 hours of police time spent recording, investigating and supervising incidents, based on an estimate by the think tank Policy Exchange that each incident takes up to five hours. It is equivalent to employing more than 2,000 officers for a week.
The disclosures have sparked fresh demands for a fundamental reform of the system to enable officers to concentrate on fighting crimes such as burglary, theft and antisocial behaviour.
Matthew Scott, Police and Crime Commissioner for Kent, has become the second policing chief to call for NCHIs to be scrapped.
“I am concerned when we are spending police time on something that is called ‘non-crime’. The guidance has created a bureaucracy that is causing the wrong priorities to be focused on,” he said.
“We need to do a full and proper independent review and stop time being wasted.”
Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary said: “This level of non-crime incident recording is a catastrophic waste of police time. The police should focus on catching real criminals and on serious matters that are immediate precursors to an actual crime being committed.
“Instead time has been wasted on policing playground spats between children, harassing journalists who are debating the trans issue online and in one case even someone who refused to shake someone else’s hand. This madness must end.
“Police need to get back to common sense policing – protecting the public from crime and catching criminals. Freedom and free speech must be protected.”
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