Non-crime hate incident recording protocol for police ‘not suitable’ – UK politics live
Key eventsDisplay key events onlyKindly enable JavaScript to utilize this featureFour-day week might be viewed as a failure, councils in England warnedSteve Reed, the housing, communities, and local government secretary, has issued a letter to all councils advising that adopting a four-day workweek could lead to being deemed a failing authority, as reported by Jamie Grierson. As Jamie details, 25 councils have considered a four-day week initiative, with one, South Cambridgeshire district council, already implementing the schedule. This marks a notable departure from Labour’s stance. During the 2019 general election, under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, Labour aimed to reduce average working hours over ten years, effectively advocating for a universal four-day workweek for all.ShareLib Dems advocate for a fly tipping hotline to enhance reporting of ‘mountain of rubbish’ issuesLast month, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, brought up a fly tipping case in Oxfordshire during PMQs. Though not a standard topic for PMQs, anyone familiar with the visuals understands why Davey and his party deemed it important enough to elevate to this platform. Unrelenting, the Lib Dems have since released polling indicating this is a prevalent issue and worsening. As per a Savanta poll, commissioned by the party and conducted last month, 20% of respondents reported witnessing ‘mountain of rubbish’ fly tipping in their vicinity, akin to the Kidlington incident mentioned at PMQs. Among the 1 in 5 identifying fly tipping as a local problem, 66% believed criminal organizations were involved, while 64% felt the situation had deteriorated in the past year.Tim Farron, the Lib Dem environment spokesperson, remarked:
These statistics indicate that the outrageous amount of waste in Oxfordshire is merely the tip of the iceberg. From our riverbanks to our countryside roads, organized crime is turning this nation into an environmental free-for-all.
What’s more troubling – we lack a clear understanding of the true extent of this issue. Communities are left to contend with filthy refuse while criminal activities evade a system that largely ignores them.
This cannot continue. The Liberal Democrats are urging the government to act swiftly to clear illegal dumping sites and establish a new hotline for fly tipping to facilitate better public reporting and monitoring of large-scale waste sites nationwide.
In a recent social media thread, Calum Miller, the Lib Dem MP for Bicester and Woodstock, shared how he was initially informed of the issue in Kidlington and how he prompted the Environment Agency to take action.ShareNon-crime hate incident recording system for police ‘not suitable’ and must be overhauled, expert group to indicate to Home OfficeGood morning. With Christmas just two days ahead, the usual flow of news from Westminster, which typically pours forth, has slowed to a trickle. There’s little on the government’s agenda today, aside from a proclamation about ensuring young individuals leaving care in England will receive free prescriptions, along with dental and eye services until their 25th birthday, which we’ve documented here …… and also confirmation that some former mineworkers are receiving a £100-per-week increase to their pensions due to a modification in the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme revealed in the budget.Josh MacAlister, the children’s minister, has been conducting interviews this morning regarding the care leavers announcement. We’re in one of those weeks when, more than usual, news outlets must create their own stories. In politics, Peter Walker has reported on Reform UK’s intention to drastically cut aid spending (or, more accurately, reduce it further than it has already been diminished). “Reform UK’s proposal to reduce the aid budget by 90% would not support current contributions to international entities like the UN and World Bank, thereby undermining Britain’s global influence and jeopardizing its position within those organizations, charities, and other stakeholders have cautioned,” writes Peter.The Telegraph is featuring a report by Charles Hymas, its home affairs editor, stating that “non-crime hate incidents [NCHIs] are set to be eliminated following plans that police leaders will present to the home secretary next month.” This sounds like something earmarked for the 2026 No 10 news grid; however, Hymas has conversed with Lord Herbert, the former Conservative policing minister, now chair of the College of Policing, which collaborates with the Home Office regarding policing strategy, and he confirmed the discontinuation of NCHIs. He stated to the paper:
NCHIs will be removed as a concept. That system will be abolished and replaced with an entirely new framework.
There will be no logging of anything resembling it in crime databases. Instead, only the most severe category of what will be categorized as anti-social behavior will be recorded. It’s a colossal change.
The police began documenting NCHIs following a suggestion in William Macpherson’s 1999 investigation into Stephen Lawrence’s murder. Macpherson indicated that law enforcement should establish “a comprehensive framework for reporting and documenting all racist incidents and crimes.”Herbert informed the Telegraph that the system is no longer “suitable” due to the rise in social media and the emergence of smartphones. He expressed:
It’s pulled law enforcement into an area that I don’t believe they intended to enter. Police have been portrayed as if they wanted to be involved in this, yet I have yet to meet an officer who does.
While some officers maintain that recording NCHIs is a beneficial means of noting behavior that could escalate into criminality, the system has also fueled numerous narratives (notably in the Telegraph) regarding police becoming overly focused on offensive tweets. According to the Telegraph, with the new system, officers will not document hate speech incidents in crime databases, opting instead to manage them as intelligence reports. They will also receive a “common-sense” checklist ensuring they only engage in situations involving serious anti-social behavior. Herbert advised the paper that police must tread carefully “not to discard the important while discarding the irrelevant.”Ministers, including Keir Starmer and Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, have repeatedly expressed (usually in response to media reports about alleged disproportionate police reactions to NCHIs) their desire for police to concentrate on issues that are significant to the public. The Telegraph reports that the College of Policing’s proposals are likely to receive approval from the Home Office. Mahmood has publicly stated that law enforcement should differentiate between “content [on social media] that is disrespectful, impolite, immature, and incitement to violence, incitement to hatred.”There is not much slated in the agenda for today. However, we will uncover some news eventually.If you wish to get in touch with me, please comment below the line when comments open (typically between 10am and 3pm currently), or reach out on social media. I cannot review all messages BTL, but if you include “Andrew” in a message directed at me, I am more likely to notice it since I search for posts containing that term.If there’s something you need to highlight urgently, it’s best to utilize social media. You can find me on Bluesky at @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social. The Guardian has stopped posting from its official profiles on X, but individual journalists are still present; I maintain my account, and if you direct message me there at @AndrewSparrow, I will see it and respond if necessary.I appreciate when readers point out errors, even small typos. No mistake is too minor to rectify. Your inquiries are also very intriguing. While I cannot guarantee responses to all, I will make an effort to answer as many as possible, either BTL or sometimes within the blog.ShareUpdated at 10.04 GMT
Published: 2025-12-23 10:11:00
source: www.theguardian.com
