RightsNational 21h 12m left
Has the UK become too easily offended?
Police in England and Wales are being told to stop recording non-crime hate incidents, the logs kept on lawful but offensive speech. Ministers said the scheme was no longer fit for purpose after officers were sent to homes over insults, online spats and routine arguments, damaging public trust. The Metropolitan Police halted investigations into them and peers voted to abolish the category outright. Forces will still record non-criminal reports where they judge there is a risk of genuine harm.
4 Opinions
Yes, to an extent. We shouldn't confuse being offended with being harmed, and the police shouldn't be wasting time investigating perfectly lawful arguments or petty online rows. The whole idea of recording someone's legal speech as a "hate incident" was always a bit ridiculous when there was no crime involved. Protect people from genuine threats and hate crimes, absolutely. But being offended isn't, and shouldn't become a police matter like it is being at present