Police double down on 'hurty words' policy

Force to keep probing tweets

- BY DAVID WALKER Scottish Politics Reporter

POLICE SCOTLAND has “doubled down” on its policy of policing tweets and ‘hurty’ words — while still refusing to probe some crimes.

The force was urged to follow the example of England and Wales and end the practice of recording ‘noncriminal hate incidents’ (NCHIs).

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she wanted officers to focus on “the day job” and stop policing “perfectly legal tweets”.

NCHIs have also been controversial in Scotland as they formally record complaints to the police even if no crime has been committed.

Concerns have been raised about Police Scotland treating people differently after it recorded an NCHI for Tory MSP Murdo Fraser after he compared a non-binary person to a cat on social media.