Met Police to stop investigating noncrime hate incidents

The Metropolitan Police announced on Monday that it will stop investigating noncrime hate incidents, a move the force said will clarify officer guidance and allow more focus on matters that meet the threshold for criminal investigation. The decision follows the September arrest at Heathrow Airport of comedy writer Graham Linehan on suspicion of inciting violence over social media posts about transgender people and the subsequent decision by prosecutors to take no further action.

The Met described noncrime hate incidents as reports that do not amount to criminal offences but are perceived by complainants to be motivated by hostility toward characteristics such as gender, race or religion. A force spokesperson said the commissioner did not believe officers should be policing what he called toxic culture war debates and that current laws and rules on online incitement had put investigators in an impossible position. The spokesperson added that the incidents will still be recorded and used as intelligence to identify potential patterns of behaviour or criminality, and that the force will continue to investigate and arrest people who commit hate crimes.