Police harmfully distracted by "hate crime incidents", watchdog warns

Police officers are recording too many "hate crime incidents" and becoming involved in cases involving hurt feelings, the police watchdog has warned.

A new report by the inspector of constabulary details trivial cases being pursued by officers, which "appear to contradict common sense".

A sample review of 120 non-crime incidents and hate crimes concluded that a quarter should not have been recorded by officers at all.

In one case, police recorded a non-crime hate incident involving a man who reported people giving him “funny looks” due to his ethnicity.

Another case identified a man who alleged racial discrimination after a bank cashier followed standard anti-money laundering protocols.

In recent years, police forces across the UK have been challenged over 'non-crime' incidents, which are often trivial and politically motivated.

The report found that some police forces can't distinguish between non-crime hate incidents and hate crimes - a point free speech groups underline.

Commenting on the report, Andy Cooke, the inspector of constabulary, said it showed the police were getting involved in disputes illegitimately:

“The police are not the thought police. I have given some examples of non-hate crime incidents in my report that police should not be getting involved with. It’s common sense.

“The police are operating in a very difficult scenario where decisions are being made against a complex and quickly changing environment, where politically contested issues are changing quite frequently.”