UK Government to Shift Focus from Non-Crime Hate Incidents to Real Crimes

The UK government has decided to change its approach to non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs). Instead of recording these incidents, they want police to focus on real crimes.

What Are NCHIs?

Not actual crimes, but can still cause problems for people accused of them.
Can show up on police records and affect job opportunities.
Accused persons are often not told or given a chance to challenge it.

The Change

The College of Policing has announced that NCHIs will be replaced with a new system. This comes after the Metropolitan Police in London decided to stop investigating NCHIs, partly due to the controversial arrest of Graham Linehan, a comedy writer, over his social media posts.

Government's Stance

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has confirmed the government plans to scrap the NCHI category. She wants police to focus on:

Catching criminals
Making communities feel safe

She does not want police to spend time on legal social media posts. However, it is not clear what will replace the NCHI system or what will happen to the existing records.

New System Details

Lord Herbert, the chairman of the College of Policing, has said that police will only record the most serious cases of anti-social behavior.

Home Secretary Mahmood has also mentioned that a new legal framework will be introduced after a review by Lord MacDonald on hate crime and public order. This new framework will aim to gather intelligence on potential criminals.

Past Incidents

Since 2014, over 130,000 NCHIs have been recorded by police.
Includes incidents involving children, such as a nine-year-old who called a classmate a "retard" and said some girls in his class smelled "like fish."

Legal Basis Questioned

The legal basis for recording NCHIs was questioned in 2021 when former police officer Harry Miller won a legal case against the practice. The court ruled that it breached his human rights and had a "chilling effect" on freedom of speech.

Reactions

While the decision to scrap NCHIs has been welcomed by the Free Speech Union, they have noted that thousands of people are still being arrested for online comments every year in Britain. The organization has also stated that the details of the new system will be crucial.