Non-crime hate incidents steering must be urgently modified as a result of officers are “not the thought police”, the shadow house secretary has stated.
Chris Philp advised a significant policing convention that the police ought to “apply common sense and not waste time and resources” investigating incidents until there may be “an imminent risk of criminality”.
He stated forces ought to be “concentrating on investigating and preventing crime”.
Mr Philp was policing minister when the code of observe for non-crime hate incidents was launched in 2023.
However he referred to as on the federal government to “urgently” make sure the steering is “rewritten and updated urgently”, utilizing laws if wanted.
Talking on the Nationwide Police Chiefs’ Council convention, Mr Philp added: “Offensive speech shouldn’t be the identical as unlawful speech.
“The police are not here to police thought. You are not the thought police.
“Non-crime hate investigations shouldn’t trespass upon free speech.
“They should not be directed at nine-year-old children involved in playground spats, as reported in The Times last week, or journalists discussing trans issues such as Julie Bindel.”
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Shadow house secretary Chris Philp
Final week, The Instances reported police forces recorded incidents the place a nine-year-old woman referred to as a classmate a “retard”, and two secondary faculty women stated one other pupil smelt “like fish”.
Feminist author Julie Bindel final week stated she was visited by police after considered one of her tweets was “reported by a transgender man” from the Netherlands.
She stated the incident occurred in 2019 and the officers “left looking a little bewildered”, with the investigation dropped the following day.
How police cope with non-crime hate incidents has been within the headlines over the previous fortnight after Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson stated she was visited by officers to rearrange an interview a few year-old tweet.
Essex Police later stated the interview was a few potential allegation of incitement to racial hatred on-line.
Dwelling Secretary Yvette Cooper stated officers ought to use a “common sense and consistent approach” to recording such incidents.
