Non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) should be scrapped as they are “no longer fit for purpose”, police leaders will recommend to the home secretary.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing will publish a review into public order and hate crime laws next month, in which they will call for NCHIs to be replaced with a new “common sense” system, as reported by The Telegraph.
NCHIs are perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards certain characteristics, such as race or gender, but do not meet the threshold of a criminal offence. They are currently recorded to collect data on “hate incidents that could escalate into more serious harm”.
The Metropolitan Police said in October that it would no longer investigate NCHIs.
About the review, Lord Herbert of South Downs, chairman of the College of Policing, told The Telegraph that non-crime hate incidents would “go as a concept”, with the system, which dates back to 1999, no longer “fit for purpose”.
He also told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme that the rise of social media in the years since NCHIs were introduced has led the police to monitor “mere disputes” online.
The decision comes after Father Ted creator Graham Linehan discovered he would face no further action over social media posts he made about transgender issues, after he was arrested at Heathrow Airport in September.
Lord Herbert described recent headlines about NCHIs as “awkward and very damaging” for police forces.
He 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.”
Rather than logging hate incidents on a crime database, the plan would treat them as intelligence reports, with officers given a “common sense” checklist to use before taking action.
It would see only the most serious incidents recorded as anti-social behaviour.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and College of Policing will publish their review next month, which will then be given to the Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood.
A Home Office spokesperson told The Independent: “We’ve been clear that we need a consistent, common-sense approach that protects the fundamental right to free speech.
“A review is currently underway into public order and hate crime laws. We do not wish to pre-empt the final findings of the review, which we have asked to be completed at pace.”
