A campaign is underway to abolish the recording of Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHIs) in the UK.
They are often used to target Christians quoting the Bible or praying out loud.
They are also used against children calling each other names and adults whistling ‘Bob The Builder.’
Even the chair of the police body that formulated the laws creating the non-crime designation, wants them scrapped because they have become a distraction to policing.
WHAT ARE NON-CRIME HATE INCIDENTS?
Christian Today explains that NCHIs were devised by the College of Policing in 2014.
Officially, they are “recorded by the police to collect information on ‘hate incidents’ that could escalate into more serious harm or indicate heightened community tensions, but which do not constitute a criminal offence.”
If a person is accused of a “hate crime”, but a police investigation finds no evidence of a crime being committed, then it results in an NCHI being recorded.
Such a record can have serious repercussions, showing up on a person’s criminal record — even though it’s officially recognised as a non-crime.
It can also appear on advanced Disclosed and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
These checks allow employers to access the criminal record of a job applicant — particularly those working with children or vulnerable adults.
The NCHIs show up in official criminal histories despite being classified as a non-crime.
THE PROBLEMS CREATED BY NCHIs
The biggest of many problems with this classification is that what passes as a ‘hate crime’ is extremely subjective.
The definition is particularly prone to misuse and abuse by police officers who are either out of their depth or actively malicious.
The Free Speech Union which has been campaigning against NCHIs for five years, cited the example of a man in Bedfordshire who was given an NCHI after his neighbour accused him of whistling ‘Bob the Builder’ every time he saw him.
The Times newspaper found that a nine-year-old who called a classmate a non-profane, but insulting name, and two secondary school pupils who said another pupil “smelled like fish” had been logged by police as having committed NCHIs.
Daily Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson claimed police “showed up” at her home and informed her that she had been accused of a NCHI for a social media post she had made a year before.
The officers were not allowed to tell her any details about her own post.
No NCHI was recorded.
EVEN SOME POLICE BOSSES WANT TO SCRAP NCHIs
Even the chair of the College of Policing Nick Herbert says the government should consider scrapping NCHIs altogether.
He claimed the recording of NCHIs has become an “impediment to the police. The category itself has become controversial and a distraction.”
More than 13,000 NCHI complaints were recorded last year.
UK think tank Policy Exchange projected that this would equate to more than 60,000 police hours per annum being spent on NCHIs.
“POLICE OFFERS ARE ASKED TO BE PHILOSOPHERS”
Conservative activist and self-described “free speech absolutist” Carl Benjamin points out police are being asked to act as philosophers.
There’s a part of me that feels bad for them because they are generally not our best and brightest.”
“They’re generally quite normal people who do not have an extensive background in literature, philosophy or the arts.”
He noted that even well-meaning police officers are put in the very difficult situation of having to judge whether an action or a phrase is a crime or not.
Mr. Benjamin explained: “You open the door to people who are bad intentioned.”
“You open the door to people who just want to be able to have a platform by which to essentially torture members of the public.”
STREET PREACHER PAID MORE THAN A$30,000 FOR WRONGFUL ARREST
Christian Today cited the case of street preacher Angus Cameron who was arrested in Scotland in 2022 for making allegedly homophobic statements.
One police officer had no issue with his preaching or quoting from the Bible.
But he was arrested by a second officer who said there had been a complaint about his comments, but refused to reveal what those comments were.
The officer accused him of breaching the peace with “homophobic aggravation.”
No evidence of a crime was found and Mr. Cameron was released from police custody, but with a NCHI recorded against his name.
With the help of The Christian Institute, he took legal action against Police Scotland.
The street preacher was awarded more than A$11,000 in compensation and nearly A$20,000 in legal costs, and the NCHI was deleted from his record.
“NCHIs ARE A WASTE OF POLICE TIME AND RESOURCES”
Christian Today writes that while it may have worked out all right in the end for Mr. Cameron, “it should never have reached the stage that it did.”
Many Christians and others without the finances, contacts and resources to mount a challenge, are left with a record against their name.
“NCHIs are a waste of police time and resources. They open the door to malicious actors, and have a stifling effect on free speech,” concludes the Christian news outlet.
“How many ordinary people do not speak their mind on a whole host of issues simply because they fear the repercussions?”
‘This is Britain – not Iran!”
The Free Speech Union is urging British people to write to their MPs to support a proposed amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill that would abolish NCHIs.
So far the Labour government has failed to act.
