Non-crime hate incidents guidance needs to be urgently changed because officers are “not the thought police”, the shadow home secretary has said.
Chris Philp told a major policing conference that the police should “apply common sense and not waste time and resources” investigating incidents unless there is “an imminent risk of criminality”.
He said forces should be “concentrating on investigating and preventing crime”.
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Mr Philp was policing minister when the code of practice for non-crime hate incidents was introduced in 2023.
But he called on the government to “urgently” ensure the guidance is “rewritten and updated urgently”, using legislation if needed.
Speaking at the National Police Chiefs’ Council conference, Mr Philp added: “Offensive speech is not the same as illegal speech.
“The police are not here to police thought. You are not the thought police.
“Non-crime hate investigations should not 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.”
Last week, The Times reported police forces recorded incidents where a nine-year-old girl called a classmate a “retard”, and two secondary school girls said another pupil smelt “like fish”.
Feminist writer Julie Bindel last week said she was visited by police after one of her tweets was “reported by a transgender man” from the Netherlands.
She said the incident happened in 2019 and the officers “left looking a little bewildered”, with the investigation dropped the next day.
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How police deal with non-crime hate incidents has been in the headlines over the past fortnight after Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson said she was visited by officers to arrange an interview about a year-old tweet.
Essex Police later said the interview was about a potential allegation of incitement to racial hatred online.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said officers should use a “common sense and consistent approach” to recording such incidents.