Police are to stop recording hurt feelings and ‘causing offence’ on Twitter as criminal offences under a major crime shake-up by the Home Office, in some rare good news for free speech online. The Telegraph has the story.
In an article for the Telegraph, Chris Philp, the policing minister, said it would stop police wasting time investigating “trivial” reports of people offended by rude text messages or chasing up neighbour disputes which had been settled by the time officers arrived.
He said the changes would save police officers 443,000 hours a year on bureaucracy and filling in crime reports so they could instead concentrate on investigating complex crimes and supporting victims. That is equivalent to putting more than 200 officers on the beat for an entire year.
“Police time is valuable,” said Mr. Philp. “I want to see officers chasing criminals and keeping the public safe, not filling in unnecessary forms.”
The changes in the way crimes will now be recorded have been recommended by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) as part of a productivity review and are expected to be backed by the Labour party.
Police chiefs have complained that past changes to the Home Office’s ‘counting rules’ – the way offences are recorded – has led to incivility, petty disputes and double counting of offences inflating crime rates. Some critics will, however, demand safeguards that recorded crime rates are not artificially massaged down.
There will be four major changes to the way offences are recorded from next month, starting with the abolition of ‘double counting’ of offences. All reported crimes for a single incident will now be recorded under the ‘principal offence’ rather than as multiple entries for different offences – as already happens with murder.
This would mean that where a victim was stalked by an offender who caused criminal damage in the process, the single crime of stalking would be recorded and investigated as the principal offence. Similarly, the case of a woman raped after being stalked or harassed would be recorded as a single offence.
Officers will be told that they should no longer record “offensive” or “rude” letters, emails, text messages or other communications as crimes as long as they are not malicious.
“Creating hurt feelings or offence should not generally be treated as a criminal matter, except in very specific and limited circumstances,” said Mr. Philp.
Thirdly, it will no longer be counted as a crime if there is, for example, a public disturbance or a fight between two neighbours which is then resolved by the time the police arrive. At present, this would have to be recorded as a crime if a witness had reported it to the police as a threat to violence.
Both the changes would require sign-off by a supervisor such as a police sergeant.
The final amendment would make it easier for officers to cancel the recording of a crime where there was sufficient evidence that none was committed. The sign-off required will vary on the gravity of the offence.
About time. But why was upsetting people on Twitter ever a crime or police matter at all?
Worth reading in full.
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Bloody hell “successful crime investigation” figures are going to go through the floor. Plod’s hard-earned 6% success rate is going to fall precipitously. What are they going to do with all the extra time on their hands?
I have a nasty suspicion the odd copper might be spotted on the beat occasionally. I suppose that could assist with hate crimes levelled against the police and lots of claims of wacism.
Obviously having to do a bit of real crime fighting is going to require lots more man hours so the overtime is in the bag.
Nice and tidy.
Fortunately I was never on Twitter so I can instead get away with telling jokes from my local hero, Chubby Brown, on here instead, where there’s no such thing as “offensive”.
I do like wor Chubby. He always reminded me of the Viz only in human form…
“I’ll always remember the last words me mam said to me before she died…”F*ck me, a bus!”
Man says to his wife, “I had a wet dream about you last night. You were ran over by a bus and I pissed myself laughing!”
Ah man, the old ones are the best..
Actually does anyone have another bus-related joke to make a trilogy..?
How can you kill an idiot with a fiver?
Throw it under a bus.
They’re making people redundant at Anne’s work. She walks into her boss’s office:
Boss: “I need to lay you or Jack off.”
Anne: “You can jack off, I’ve got a headache!”
That’s all folks!
Climb a hill to Bedfordshire? Pretty flat all rounf
Speaking of Beds., do ‘urricanes hever ‘appen to happen in ‘Ertford, ‘Ereford or ‘Ampshire?
Carefully sharpen the edge and hope for a weak moment
Mogs, saw Chubby in Ashton (under- Lyne) in the nineties. Absolutely hilarious. I still pop on to YouTube for a watch most weeks.
A real comedian.
Yes daft as a brush but real quick off the draw. Proper character and a real legend in the N. East.
A gang of us saw Chubby in Ashton (-Under-Lyne) in the nineties. He was Brilliant.
Then there is Sarah Millican.
Not forgetting the greatest performing comedian today, our local lad, Peter Kay.
“‘as thi anything moist?”
“d’ya du livva?”
” Chris Philp, the policing minister, said it would stop police wasting time… chasing up neighbour disputes which had been settled by the time officers arrived.”
I seem to remember a story some years back about an old, possibly disabled man, I think somewhere round Longdendale, who was tormented by local youths. Local police failed to do anything about this, and the man eventually died of a heart attack as a result of the situation. If the police are to define such things as “neighbour disputes” and not tackle them, then that is obviously unacceptable. So far as I am concerned, this man was failed by the police and they have blood on their hands.
Good point.
One step on a long road…
’But why was upsetting people on Twitter ever a crime or police matter at all?’
i think the answer to that question comes from the likes of Tony Blair and the appointment of his ‘progressive’ lackey Iain Blair and then his replacement Cressida Dick.
Is that woman a lesbian?
Just curious because her name is an anagram of “I’d caress dick”….which would be unfortunate.
Dick has more medals than Audie Murphy, but if you take a closer look there is nothing there for courage, its the likes of the Queen’s celebration of something or other medal.
Yes, she bats for the other side and has a “wife.”
Colloquially a ‘r#g muncher.’
A wife? Called, by any chance, Incontinentia Buttocks?
Actually, I think most people on here know why “upsetting people” was made a crime.
Because it was part of the Labia Party’s strategy to “rub their noses in diversity”. “They” being the ordinary, civilised members of the white, non racist, rational working and middle classes.
And because they were shit scared of the more excitable adherents of the “Religion of Peace”, whom they also needed to boost their city centre majorities.
And, quite predictably, the Tory and Limp Dim wings of the UniParty were also terrified of the monster that had been created and let loose. Hence the grooming gangs, the FGM, the Honour killings, the rubber boats of invaders and all the rest. 50% strategy to screw the UK over, 50% sheer cowardice.
Let’s face it, the reason we need police is to attend to all the fallout caused by the division wrought upon us all by the people for whom the police work.
Policing by Consent would be a fine thing. They have got a long way to go to correct the damage they’ve done to their own reputation.
I believe the reputation of the police is beyond redemption.
Sadly, we have two in the family and both mid-graders.
It’s like the song about the universal soldier. If you follow orders and harass people because you are told to do so then you have no defence in morality and you will poison yourself slowly because having succumbed to such an edict there is nothing left that you won’t do and so your worthlessness will become bottomless.We are living in a time where it will pay big dividends to have some balls.
You have to acknowledge certain realities. That in terms of demoralisation, our enemies have succeeded very well.How do you lift the morale of a people? It can be done and if it is done correctly it can result in an explosion of consciousness. This should be our real aim and ther is such fertile ground now. Despite all of the horrorshow of the last few years and decades we need to show that we are the right way forward. For those of us who are left our vision is far greater than theirs. There should be no feeling of inadequacy or insecurity. No fear just an honest appraisal of reality.
Hurt feelings are a personal matter not a police matter.
******************************
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Sundays 10.30am to 11.30am
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Wokingham RG40 2FE
The batards will find another category, The woke, corrupt, scum aren’t going to let this one go.
You cannot be offended without your consent.