Police watchdog appeals for officers to be taken off online non-crime incidents

POLICE should stop recording non-crime hate incidents and must “separate the offensive from the criminal”, a watchdog has said.

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Sir Andy Cooke, His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary, said officers are placed in an invidious position by current legislation and that “discretion and common sense don’t always win out in these issues”.

He spoke to journalists ahead of the publication of his organisation’s annual report on the state of policing in England and Wales.

Non-crime hate incidents are used by police to gather intelligence on increasing tensions, with the aim of spotting any signs of future violence or unrest.

Debate over how they are used flared last year when officers from Essex Police visited Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson to arrange an interview about an entry on X.