Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch wants police to stop recording non-criminal hate incidents (NCHIs) in England and Wales.
The Conservatives said on Tuesday (22 April) that non-crime hate incidents should no longer be recorded in all but a few cases.
As per Gov.UK, an NCHI is “an incident or alleged incident which involves or is alleged to involve an act by a person (‘the subject’) which is perceived by a person other than the subject to be motivated – wholly or partly – by hostility or prejudice towards persons with a particular characteristic”, like religion, race or gender.
The incidents are recorded to collect data on “hate incidents that could escalate into more serious harm” but are not considered a criminal offence, as per Home Office guidance.
The party are attempting to amend the government’s Crime and Policing Bill, which would ban forces from logging incidents, apart from some circumstances. The party said that its plans would see only senior officers being allowed to record NCHIs in circumstances like the prevention or investigation of actual crimes.
Badenoch said that the recording of non-crime hate incidents had “wasted police time chasing ideology and grievance instead of justice” while the Conservatives said that the “use of NCHIs has spiralled out of control”.
However, Policing Minister Diana Johnson said the plan was “unworkable” and “would prevent the police monitoring serious antisemitism and other racist incidents”.
Police guidance on the recording of NCHIs was first recommended in 2005 by an inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.
Tuesday, when the Conservatives made the announcement, is the 32nd anniversary since he was murdered in a racially-motivated attack in south-east London. The party said the timing of their announcement was not intentional.
In a 2024 report from The Telegraph, 43 forces in England and Wales had recorded over 133,000 non-crime hate incidents since 2014.
A 2023 update by the Conservatives to the guidance on the recording of NCHIs stated that officers should consider whether a complaint was “trivial” or if the incident was motivated by “intentional hostility or prejudice”.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philip (who was policing minister at the time) wrote in a statement to MPs: “If someone is targeted because of hostility or prejudice towards their race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity, and the criteria in the code are met, the incident can and should be recorded as a non-crime hate incident.”
Badenoch said police forces did not follow the updated guidelines on the use of NCHIs “so it’s time to get rid of them completely”.
“The British public want police on the streets – fighting crime and protecting families – not trawling social media for things someone might find offensive,” she said.
Badenoch added that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer should “stand up, show some courage, and back real policing over political correctness”.
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