Met Police to End Recording of 'Non-Crime Hate Incidents' After Campaign Pressure

Image by Martin Foskett

​By Martin Foskett | Newswire | Knelstrom Media

LONDON, ENGLAND -- The Metropolitan Police has announced it will no longer investigate or record so-called "non-crime hate incidents" — a quiet yet symbolic turn in Britain's long quarrel over the limits of speech and policing.

​The decision follows sustained campaigning by the Free Speech Union, which argued that recording such incidents, where no criminal offence is committed, had allowed lawful expression to leave a lasting mark on police records. The group linked the move directly to the Met's decision to drop its investigation into writer Graham Linehan, who had been under scrutiny for online comments deemed "hateful" but not criminal.

For years, "NCHIs" have existed in a grey zone of British policing, logged reports of words or behaviour perceived as motivated by hostility, even when they fall short of breaking the law. Critics warned the practice blurred the line between crime prevention and thought policing. Supporters, however, maintained that it helped identify patterns of prejudice before they escalated into harm.

The Free Speech Union called the Met's reversal "a tremendous victory," while conceding that "the war is not yet over." The group said it would now pressure other forces across the UK to follow suit, noting that such records can appear on enhanced background checks used in education, healthcare, and childcare recruitment. "No one should be prevented from getting a job because they've committed a 'non-crime'," the Union's statement read.

In Parliament, the issue is beginning to move from online dispute to legislative reform. Lord Young of Acton has proposed an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill seeking to abolish NCHIs entirely, co-sponsored by Lord Hogan-Howe, the former Metropolitan Police Commissioner. The pair argue that the practice has "no place in a free society." However, government officials have so far remained cautious, citing the need to balance freedom of expression with protection for vulnerable communities.

For now, the Met's decision applies only to its own jurisdiction. Other forces are under no obligation to follow. Yet observers suggest London's move may prove a bellwether moment: a capital city quietly drawing the line between offence and illegality, and inviting the rest of Britain to decide where it stands.