Police slammed over daft hate crimes including trans woman banned from ladies loo & man singing Scots song in England

The Sun

7 hours ago

COPS are still logging bizarre hate incidents — including the singing of anthem Flower of Scotland at an English railway station.
An investigation by The Sun reveals how police — under fire for not catching shoplifters and burglars — are wasting vital time on the 'non-crime hate incidents'.
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Former officers and MPs want the 'crackers' cases scrapped.
Police stand accused of failing to tackle 'actual crimes' while instead investigating 'hate' complaints — including one about a pub landlord who stopped a transgender woman using his ladies' loo.
Cops also logged a case after a caller put on an Indian accent to order a chicken tikka masala from a takeaway.
Another force was contacted by a person whose new boss called their designer clothes 'fake' and told them of an intimate Where's Wally tattoo.
The bizarre cases were among at least 6,300 non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) recorded in 2024.
The true figure would be much higher as 15 of the 44 police forces in England and Wales did not disclose figures under a Freedom of Information request.
MPs and top cops led calls to stop wasting time on NCHIs, which are recorded where no criminal offence has been committed but the 'victim' feels it was motivated by hate or prejudice.
Shadow Justice Minister Robert Jenrick said: 'We have lost the plot.
'Practically everyone in the country will have at some point said something that would get them reported.
'This is crackers.
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'We need to scrap NCHIs altogether.'
Reform UK's Lee Anderson added: 'The majority of these incidents are reported by total snowflakes.
'These are the people who should be charged with wasting police time.
'Officers should be investigating proper crimes not hurt feelings.
'Those who complain should go and live on a remote island with some of our celebrities who make a living out of being offended.'
The person in Bedfordshire upset by the Where's Wally tattoo also complained of the supervisor asking about their shoes and requests to remove their durag hair covering.
The incident was recorded as 'sex-based and hate-motivated'.
The police log obtained by The Sun says: 'The victim felt irritated for the rest of the shift as it was mean and uncalled for.'
In Dunstable, Beds, a complainant said they heard a neighbour gossiping on their Ring doorbell, then point at their home and make an insult before walking off.
Bedfordshire Police said: 'We record hate related incidents in line with national guidance set out by the College of Policing.'
South Wales Police, which dealt with the trans row, recorded 40 NCHIs last year.
It said one 'perpetrator' was aged nine, another 11.
Humberside Police logged the case where a person put on an Indian accent to order a curry.
West Yorkshire Police handled 175 complaints — one from a man who claimed his bins kept being moved because he was gay.
Forces that did not provide their figures included London's Met — the UK's biggest — West Midlands, Essex and Devon and Cornwall.
Ex-Met detective Peter Bleksley said: 'These examples are ludicrous and a total waste of police time.
'Waste of police time'
'It is not a policing matter if someone is singing Flower of Scotland.
'If it were, the whole of the Met would have to be deployed when Scotland play rugby at Twickenham.
'These are mostly juvenile situations and officers should not lower themselves to getting involved.
'It is a serious problem when a lot of actual crimes are not investigated.'
NCHIs were introduced in 2014 and are meant to help forces develop intelligence on situations that could potentially escalate.
In some cases, cops speak to those supposedly committing offences.
An NCHI can remain on file for six years and, in some cases, be disclosed to a prospective employer.
A report this week by think tank Civitas called for NCHIs to be abolished. Author Hardeep Singh said: 'Some activist groups continue to weaponise them against their political opponents.
"We've seen the most absurd incidents being recorded over the years, and precious police resources should not be drained by policing online ideological disputes.'
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In 2023, the Home Office issued guidance instructing officers to consider if there was genuine hostility in the incident or whether it could be considered freedom of speech.
Earlier this month, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said the policy of recording NCHIs had 'passed its sell-by date'.
Sir Andy Marsh, head of standards body the College of Policing, called on officers to use more 'common sense' and signalled that the recording of NCHIs needs to be scrapped.
He said: 'What we've wrapped up that objective in doesn't stand up to scrutiny on many occasions under the common-sense test.
'We need to fix it.
'I don't want to be policing freedom of speech.'