A former Metropolitan Police commissioner has urged ministers to “look closely” at a thinktank report calling for non-crime hate incidents to be abolished.
Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe served because the chief of the UK’s largest police power from 2011 to 2017.
He has backed a brand new report from the thinktank Coverage Trade, launched on Monday, that calls non-crime hate incidents (NCHI) a “distraction” from policing priorities.
A NCHI, as outlined by the federal government, is: “An incident or alleged incident which involves or is alleged to involve an act by a person (‘the subject’) which is perceived by a person other than the subject to be motivated – wholly or partly – by hostility or prejudice towards persons with a particular characteristic.”
It comes after an investigation into Each day Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson was dropped.
On the brand new report, Lord Hogan-Howe stated: “The original intent around Non-Crime Hate Incidents was well-intentioned – to try and spot incidents that might lead to racist attacks and crime in the future.”
However he added that there had been “little debate about their efficacy”.
He continued: “Whether something is a crime is an objective statutory test. Whether something is a Non-Crime Hate Incident is a subjective test based on guidance – producing inconsistent outcomes.
“Parliament slightly than the School of Policing has to determine whether or not the police needs to be investigating folks for Non-Crime Hate Incidents and the way they’re recorded.
“I would urge ministers to look closely at this Policy Exchange report to inform the path they intend to take.”
