Overview
- His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Andy Cooke said police should stop recording non-crime hate incidents and “separate the offensive from the criminal.”
- Cooke described the Heathrow arrest of writer Graham Linehan over X posts as a poor public optic and said lessons would be learned, while stopping short of criticizing individual officers.
- NPCC chair Gavin Stephens, Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley and College of Policing head Sir Andy Marsh wrote to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood seeking changes to laws governing offensive online statements.
- The chiefs said current recording standards and legislation predate social media, leaving forces to apply offences in ways never intended and drawing them into refereeing societal debate.
- The College of Policing’s review of non-crime hate incidents is ongoing, and Cooke warned broader policing reforms will be a “massive challenge” without additional funding.