Leaked dossier reveals Home Office plans to revive non-crime hate incidents...

[dutchman]

Claims of two-tier policing would be seen as ‘extremist’ under guidance in report that follows investigation into Allison Pearson



Police should record more non-crime hate incidents, a leaked Home Office report has recommended, despite a row sparked by Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson.

The counter-extremism review recommends that Labour reverses the previous Government’s move to limit the recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) over concerns about their impact on free speech.

On Monday night, ministers backed the increased use of NCHIs for incidents of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism.

In an assessment that will lead to a backlash from Tory and Reform politicians, the report also says that “claims of ‘two-tier’ policing” are a “Right-wing extremist narrative” and that grooming gangs are an “alleged” problem “frequently exploit[ed]” by the far-Right.

The row over NCHIs and free speech flared last year after Pearson was investigated by police for the crime of allegedly stirring up racial hatred in a tweet about two-tier policing. The case was subsequently dropped.

Pearson initially believed she was being investigated for an NCHI and the incident resulted in a public debate about their use.

In June 2023, Suella Braverman, the Conservative home secretary at the time, ordered police to stop recording NCHIs, which do not meet the criminal threshold but are logged by police regardless, just because someone was offended.

The new report says the Home Office should “reverse the previous government’s code of practice”.

The review – called a “rapid sprint” – was ordered by Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, in August last year as part of work to develop a new counter-extremism strategy and was leaked to Policy Exchange, the think tank.

NCHIs were introduced after the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence to monitor situations that could escalate into more serious harm or show heightened community tensions. However, they have increasingly been used to record trivial incidents.

More than 13,000 incidents were logged by police forces in the past year, including against schoolchildren, vicars and doctors.

Although having an NCHI recorded against a person does not involve any sanction and is not a criminal record, it may show up on an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, potentially affecting employment prospects.

Ms Cooper has proposed expanding the recording of NCHIs in relation to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia because she believes they can warn of rising abuse against Jewish and Muslim communities.

The report suggests that any changes would “encompass all five protected characteristics”, which includes hate based on race, disability, sexual orientation or gender reassignment. Home Office sources said a wider expansion of NCHIs was not planned.

In its section on the extreme Right, the Home Office report says “claims of ‘two-tier policing’, where two groups are allegedly treated differently after similar behaviour” are an example of a “Right-wing extremist narrative” which is “leaking into mainstream debates”.

It also warns: “Right-wing extremists frequently exploit cases of alleged group-based sexual abuse to promote anti-Muslim sentiment as well as anti-government and anti-‘political correctness’ narratives.”