Police must use common sense to decide what is a crime and what’s offensive, the policing watchdog Sir Andy Cooke has told Sky News.
Doing so would help lift continuing low public confidence in the police, which he said had dropped markedly in the past five years.
He hit out after the wide condemnation of comedy writer Graham Linehan’s arrest, publicly, by five armed officers for tweeting messages about trans issues, which allegedly incited violence.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sir Andy, the chief inspector of constabulary, said: “For me, non-crime hate incidents are no longer required, and they can be dealt with differently.
“I’m not saying it’s not wrong to actually use that language, but is it a criminal offence that needs to be dealt with by the police, or can the police deal with it differently through using it as intelligence?”
He also questioned, like other police leaders, whether the laws governing social media were relevant today and should be updated.
“It’s really difficult for policing to deal with the social media issues that we see now,” he added. “But there’s always discretion and common sense that needs to be used as well.
“We need to get that balance, we need to decide what is offensive and what is criminal.”
Non-crime hate incidents are used by police to gather intelligence on increasing tensions, with the aim of spotting any signs of future violence or unrest.
Debate over how they are used flared last year when officers from Essex Police visited Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson to arrange an interview about an entry on X.
Palestine Action ‘a major public order issue’
Sir Andy defended officers who made mass arrests of peaceful protestors supporting Palestine Action, the group recently designated a terrorist organisation.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
“That decision has been made by the government,” Sir Andy said. “Policing needs to identify the best way to deal with that, which is an operational issue for the relevant commissioner or chief constable.
“It’s a major public order issue.”
While he acknowledged most are not protesting violently, he said “it’s still a massive issue for the people of those cities where these protests are taking place, and the law is quite clear in relation to proscription”.
“It is a serious offence,” he said.
Follow our channel and never miss an update.
‘Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’ to reform policing
Sir Andy was speaking ahead of the launch of his annual assessment of the state of policing in England and Wales.
In his report, the former chief constable of Merseyside called for adequate funding to achieve government aims that include boosting neighbourhood policing, reducing knife crime and halving offences against women and girls.
Sir Andy said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to actually start that reform that policing needs, and it will be a missed opportunity if it’s not properly funded from the start.”
Read more from Sky News:
NHS publishes trust league tables for first time
What we have learnt from Harry’s trip to the UK
Man arrested after Heathrow terminal evacuation
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
The National Police Chiefs Council has identified a £1.3bn shortfall in police funding over the next two years.
Sir Andy said there were difficulties in hiring chief constables, with some job adverts attracting only one candidate and not always the right candidate.
He also said that the much-needed recruitment of 20,000 rank-and-file officers over the past few years had happened too quickly and left forces with an average of more than one-third of staff with less than five years’ experience.
