The police should stand up to woke political activists, not do their bidding

Oh how our battered nation yearns to support its police! Shaken by a spate of shocking murders, voters long for more policing they can trust. Unfortunately, what is being delivered is the exact opposite. The alarming pursuit of law-abiding citizens for non crimes is further eroding public confidence in the service – and the blame goes right to the top.

Official statistics may tell us that violent crime is falling, yet most feel the country is becoming more lawless. Communities are crying out for beat officers to provide a visible deterrent to shoplifters, vandals and other troublemakers while victims of crime despair over the systematic failure to investigate their cases.

The collapse in the number of muggers, robbers, rapists and other ne’er-do-wells facing criminal action is little short of scandalous, with just 6 per cent of reported crimes resulting in charges. Back in 2015, that figure was 13 per cent. Though hardly impressive, this at least gave victims a better than one in 10 chance of something being done. Now the vast majority are fobbed off with a reference number. Defending these woeful records, police chiefs always complain about “austerity” and “cuts”.

All the more extraordinary, then, that they are able to find so much time to investigate “non-crime hate incidents,” (NCHIs) – especially when such allegations are patently ridiculous and politically motivated. In a deeply disturbing development, elements in our society now delight in using the police to intimidate and silence those who voice opinions with which they disagree. Instead of putting an immediate stop to such behaviour, this most woeful of governments is actively whipping 
it up.

A glance at social media reveals just how prolific the abuse of this legal provision has become. Indeed, the Left treats running to the police about “hateful” remarks as a niche sport. Conservative, and upset someone on Facebook or X? Don’t be surprised to get a knock at the door.

Those in the public eye are particularly vulnerable. Alarmingly, the treatment of Telegraph writer Allison Pearson, who is under criminal investigation not for an NCHI but for allegedly stirring up racial hatred over something she posted on social media a year ago, is far from unique. Numerous others with strong opinions on controversial issues have faced similar threats. Back in 2020, for example, GB News presenter Darren Grimes famously faced a Met Police investigation for conducting a YouTube interview with the outspoken historian David Starkey. Within the last week, I myself have been the target of Left-wing activists who wish to see me prosecuted for using the word “parasites” in a debate about abuse of the benefits system.

It would be easy to blame the PC Plods sent to feel the collars of political targets such as Pearson for their supposed “crimes”. Then again, low-ranking officers are not expected to exercise much discretion. It is those further up the food chain who provide the direction.

Shamefully, so far from discouraging this sinister, resource-sapping activity, those in charge of decision making are actively promoting it – either because they are too stupid to recognise its corrosive effects or (in the case of the Government) because the crushing of dissenting voices suits them.

In an important test of his own attitude to this dark practice, the Prime Minister could have condemned Pearson’s treatment and that of other law-abiding citizens dragged into this net. Instead, he did the opposite, making it clear that he backs the investigation of NCHIs. What a crashing disappointment he is – and how reliably he makes all the wrong calls.

In official guidelines to police, NCHIs are so loosely defined as to cover any remark that “disturbs” or “causes concern” to anyone on grounds of race, religion, sexual orientation, disability or transgender identity. The scope for exploitation by political activists, attention seekers and professional victims is obvious – which is why the last government sensibly instructed police to stop wasting time recording so many “cases”. Under the direction of the Conservative home secretaries Priti Patel and Suella Braverman, thousands of these non-events were quite rightly deleted from police databases.
Regrettably, one of Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s earliest decisions in Government has been to go the other way. Her department has advertised a new “zero-tolerance approach” to so-called “hate” that falls short of criminality. Her officials claim it is “vital” that police “capture data” following complaints.

Really? Isn’t the pursuit of actual crime – rather than remarks that are vanishingly unlikely to have a truly harmful effect on anyone – far more urgent? Can’t she see that forcing police officers to fiddle around with this stuff only makes their jobs more wretched – and further undermines public trust in and respect for their wider work? Government websites designed to boost police recruitment highlight the skills and attributes that are prized, with patience, sensitivity and understanding all featuring prominently. The ability to stay calm in stressful situations and negotiate with tricky characters are also sought-after qualities. Nowhere is there any reference to sound judgment, or common sense.

And herein lies the rub – for it ought to be perfectly obvious that much of the frothing at the mouth about “hatred” in response to lively debates about Channel migrants, mass uncontrolled immigration and other sensitive issues is vexatious. The reality is that anyone with a political agenda or axe to grind can complain to the police about anything – and they do. It was ever thus. What matters is what happens next. Junior officers should be encouraged by those higher up the management chain to make swift judgments about silly complaints, and send instigators away with a flea in the ear.

Defending its decision to investigate Pearson, Essex Police boasts of doing its job without fear of favour. All well and good – but neither policing nor governing without fear or favour is of much value, if it is also policing and governing without common sense.