11 hours ago
1
Officers should absorption connected "tackling existent transgression and policing the streets", Downing Street has said - aft the Metropolitan Police announced it is nary longer investigating non-crime hatred incidents.
The announcement by Britain's biggest unit connected Monday came aft it emerged Father Ted creator Graham Linehan volition look nary further action aft helium was arrested astatine Heathrow Airport connected suspicion of inciting unit implicit 3 posts helium made connected X astir transgender issues.
Politics latest: Boris Johnson near successful 'homicidal mood' aft exam effect fiasco
Sir Keir Starmer's spokesperson said constabulary forces volition "get the clarity they request to support our streets safe" erstwhile a reappraisal of non-crime hatred incidents by the National Police Chiefs' Council and College of Policing is published successful December.
"The constabulary should absorption connected tackling existent transgression and policing the streets," helium said.
"The location caput has asked that this reappraisal beryllium completed astatine pace, moving with the National Police Chiefs' Council and the College of Policing.
"We look guardant to receiving its findings arsenic soon arsenic possible, truthful that the different forces get the clarity they request to support our streets safe."
He said the authorities volition "always enactment with constabulary chiefs to marque definite transgression instrumentality and guidance reflects the common-sense attack we each privation to spot successful policing".
After Linehan's September arrest, Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said officers were successful "an intolerable position" erstwhile dealing with statements made online.
On Monday, a Met spokesperson said the commissioner had been "clear helium doesn't judge officers should beryllium policing toxic civilization warfare debates, with existent laws and rules connected inciting unit online leaving them successful an intolerable position".
The unit said the determination to nary longer analyse non-crime hatred incidents would present "provide clearer absorption for officers, trim ambiguity and alteration them to absorption connected matters that conscionable the threshold for transgression investigations".
Justice curate Sarah Sackman said it is "welcome news" the Met volition present beryllium focusing connected crimes specified arsenic telephone snatching, mugging, antisocial behaviour and convulsive crime.
Asked if different forces should travel the Met's decision, she said: "I deliberation that different forces request to marque the decisions that are close for their communities.
"But I'm definite that communities up and down the state would privation that renewed absorption connected convulsive crime, connected antisocial behaviour, and connected existent hatred crime."
The Met said it volition inactive grounds non-crime hatred incidents to usage arsenic "valuable pieces of quality to found imaginable patterns of behaviour oregon criminality".
English (US) ·