UK Police to Scrap Non-Crime Hate Incidents and Replace with 'Commonsense' System
The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing are set to publish a review proposing the abolition of non-crime hate incidents. These incidents, defined as actions perceived to be motivated by hostility toward attributes such as race or gender but which do not meet criteria for criminal offenses, would instead be managed under a new system.
This new approach would focus on recording only the most serious cases as antisocial behaviour, treating other incidents as intelligence reports rather than logging them in crime databases. Officers would apply a 'commonsense' checklist to guide their responses. The review will be published next month and submitted to Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood for consideration.
The Metropolitan Police announced in October 2025 that it would cease investigating non-crime hate incidents. Nick Herbert, chair of the College of Policing, emphasized that police should prioritize significant matters and avoid policing social media content such as tweets.
Previously, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services chief Andy Cooke had advocated for ending non-crime hate incident recordings, suggesting intelligence could be collected through other means.
A recent example involving these policies was the case of Graham Linehan, creator of Father Ted, who faced no further action after an arrest over transgender-related social media posts at Heathrow in September 2025. That case was downgraded to a non-crime hate incident investigation.
