Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced plans to scrap non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) in their current form, arguing they have diverted police from tackling everyday crime. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph, Mahmood stated she wants officers to focus on 'catching criminals, cutting crime, making sure that people in our neighbourhoods feel safe', rather than policing 'perfectly legal tweets'.
NCHIs are incidents that do not meet the criminal threshold but are perceived to be motivated by hatred based on characteristics such as race or gender. Critics have long argued that they stifle free speech and waste police time, with records kept indefinitely and potentially appearing in background checks.
Senior police figures, including the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), have previously called for the practice to be scrapped, insisting forces should not be policing 'toxic culture wars debates'. The move follows several high-profile cases, including the arrest of Father Ted creator Graham Linehan over a tweet about transgender activists, which was later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Mahmood confirmed the current framework is 'not acceptable' and will be replaced with a new legal framework after Lord MacDonald's review of public order and hate crime is completed. She emphasised that police should 'get out of the business of essentially policing social media'.
