The police must reckon with their extremism problem
The arrest of a police officer in Gloucestershire, on suspicion of providing support to Hamas, is sobering. While it is too early to say if an offence has been committed in this instance, this potential case is far from unique.
In June Mohammed Adil of Bradford was convicted of two terrorism offences, after sharing images in support of Hamas in October and November 2023. He was a serving police officer in West Yorkshire Police at the time of the offence, and was sentenced to an 18-month community order and 160 hours of unpaid work.
The second image, which he had shared on WhatsApp, stated: “We will hold accountable all those who occupied our lands and Allah will hold accountable all those who remained silent against this occupation and oppression.” This is believed to be a quote from Abu Ubaida, a spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of Hamas. The Al-Qassam Brigades have been proscribed in this country since March 2001 – when Adil would still have been in short trousers.
How many other police officers, and how many civilian staff with access to police stations and computer systems, hold similar views to Mohammed Adil? How many are willing to act on those views? These are not theoretical questions – the landscape of counter-extremism and counter-terrorism has been changed utterly by the 7/10 attacks and the subsequent war between Israel and Hamas.
Public concern is exacerbated by the perception the police are all too happy to indulge in politics. As Policy Exchange detailed in a 2023 report on police staff associations, a succession of representative bodies now exist in most forces, many representing different racial, religious or national heritage groups, with some lobbying repeatedly on highly contentious issues.
In May 2021 footage emerged of a WPC in London hugging a demonstrator on a pro-Palestine march to the Israel embassy. She then joined in, while in police uniform, with the crowds’ chants of “Free free Palestine”. Officers taking the knee and driving rainbow emblazoned police cars became core examples of the increased politicisation of the public square. Activists sat on police consultative forums, often with little or no public terms of reference or even a webpage listing the full membership of the group concerned.
A particular risk with such behaviour is not just that it damages concepts of impartiality, but that it encourages police officers to see certain political causes as “good” and therefore to be less questioning of the actions and materials of these campaigns and their allies. This forms part of the trap the police walked into when protestors were calling for “jihad” on the streets, and the Met’s advisors were reportedly telling them this had multiple meanings and that those concerned should not be arrested.
It is clear vetting poses a major challenge. In 2021, the Met sacked Benjamin Hannam, a police officer and member of the proscribed far-Right terror group National Action. Hannam had lied on his application and vetting forms, which prohibit membership of the BNP or similar organisations.
Nor are specialist police units exempt from issues. Last May a Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism officer, Saadane Mansouri, was sacked after being found guilty of passing confidential information about protestors to the Algerian Embassy. Vetting notably failed in the cases of police sex offenders David Carrick and Wayne Couzens. Is it up to the far more nuanced task of identifying either political extremists or officers who may be influenced by foreign governments?
Public acceptance of police neutrality rests not only on avoiding any association with politics, but on properly vetting officers to ensure that those who join the force do not bring political baggage with them. To police by consent requires both impartiality in applying the law, and the perception that impartiality matters. Can the police expect public support when they divide themselves up into sectarian groups within their own ranks, and become political campaigners themselves?
To get a grip, the police need to overhaul recruitment standards. There has been lots of talk in recent years on vetting standards but none on police recruitment which has got worse and worse in the drive to bring more “diversity” into forces.
Police governance of staff associations needs to be addressed as Policy Exchange argued last year and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services reported earlier this year. Police chiefs should also use fast track misconduct processes to get bad officers out more quickly. Without this, the police will simply go on repeating the mistakes of recent years.
Dr Paul Stott is the Head of Security and Extremism at Policy Exchange