Ethnicity guidance simply 'irrelevant'

THE family of one of the three girls killed in the Southport attack last year has criticised new police guidance that recommends forces share suspects' ethnicity and nationality with the public.

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The interim guidance by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing comes after mounting pressure on police to increase transparency around the identity of offenders.

Police forces have been instructed to share suspects' ethnicity and nationality with the public after authorities were accused of covering up offences carried out by asylum seekers, and in the wake of riots sparked by social media disinformation after the Southport murders.