Non-crime hate incidents ‘to be scrapped’ in favour of ‘common sense’

The chairman of the College of Policing said that the system would be ‘scrapped and replaced with a completely different system’

Police chiefs will reportedly seek to scrap non-crime hate incidents in plans they will present to the Home Secretary next month.

NCHIs are no longer “fit for purpose”, police leaders have decided, after warnings that recording them undermines freedom of speech and diverts officers away from fighting crime.

A new “common sense” system is being proposed, as reported by The Telegraph, where only a fraction of such incidents would be recorded under the most serious category of anti-social behaviour.

It comes after Graham Linehan, the Father Ted co-creator, was arrested for a series of posts on X as he stepped off a plane Heathrow airport in September.

Plans to scrap the concept will be published next month by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and are expected to be backed by Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, the newspaper reported.

Lord Herbert, the chairman of the College of Policing, told The Telegraph: “NCHIs will go as a concept. That system will be scrapped and replaced with a completely different system.

Shabana Mahmood is expected to back the changes (Getty Images)

“There will be no recording of anything like it on crime databases. Instead, only the most serious category of what will be treated as anti-social behaviour will be recorded. It’s a sea change.”

Their exclusion from crime databases means any incidents will no longer have to be declared as part of checks in job applications. Police forces would be instructed not to log “hate” incidents on crime databases, instead treating them as “intelligence” reports.

Instead, officers would be issued with a “common sense” checklist to go through before they take any action, to prevent police from intervening in online spats or offensive comments.

Police forces should be banned from recording ‘non-crime hate incidents’ except in very limited circumstances, the Conservatives have said (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

The Metropolitan Police announced in October it would stop investigating “non-crime hate incidents” following the decision to take no further action against Mr Linehan, whose arrest sparked controversy.

Met Police commissioner Mark Rowley is expected to support the changes after he stated following the Mr Linehan controversy that officers were in an “impossible position” when dealing with statements made online.

A spokesperson for the police force said at the time: “We understand the concern around this case.

“The commissioner has been clear he doesn’t believe officers should be policing toxic culture war debates, with current laws and rules on inciting violence online leaving them in an impossible position.

“As a result, the Met will no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents. We believe this will provide clearer direction for officers, reduce ambiguity and enable them to focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigations.”

The Independent has contacted the Home Office for comment.