The UK’s policing watchdog has told the country’s cops that they are not “thought police” and to instead focus on actual crime.
Police need to remember that they are not “thought police”, and instead shift their focus back to the basics of police work, the UK’s new top law enforcement watchdog, Andy Cooke, has said.
Cooke’s comments come at a time when British police forces have become increasingly infamous for their obsession with policing political opinions, with recent controversy surrounding the recording of so-called “Non-Crime Hate Incidents” against those with dissident political beliefs regarding the likes of Transgenderism prompting the ruling Conservative Party to promise an end to the recording of such non-offences.
According to a report by The Times, such a view that UK cops should not be policing the thoughts of citizens is shared by the country’s new chief inspector of constabulary, who has said that he wants law enforcement to instead focus once again on the very basics of their work.
“I do think it’s important that the prioritisation that we give is to those most at risk, and that policing stays away from the politics with a small p, and the different thoughts that people have,” Cooke reportedly told the publication.
“Those thoughts, unless they become actions, aren’t an offence,” he continued. “The law is quite clear in relation to what is an offence and what isn’t an offence.”
This criticism mirrors that made by the current chief inspector’s predecessor, Tom Winsor, who said earlier in the year that “just thinking something is not a crime and should never be a crime”.
Both men also emphasised that it was not up to the UK police to make new laws regarding hate speech and hate crime, but the country’s legislature.
Cooke then went on to express disappointment at the low rate of cases being solved by police to do with shoplifting, burglaries and sex crimes, saying that he wanted to see officers on the ground redouble their efforts by getting back to the basics of their work.
Cooke’s comments come at a time of increased scrutiny to do with the recording of so-called “Non-Crime Hate Incidents” by police, which involves police taking official records of certain incidents deemed to be problematic despite said incident not being criminal in nature.
Despite the fact that no crime is recorded, such incident records could emerge during police vetting of an individual, making it more difficult for them to find employment.
After a judge found that one UK police force had acted unlawfully in their recording of one particular “Non-Crime Hate Incident”, Home Secretary Priti Patel promised that she would roll out new guidance to prevent police from recording such incidents.
“The police will always have my backing to fully investigate hate crimes, but they must do so whilst protecting the fundamental right of freedom of expression,” the Conservative Party politician previously said.
“Some current practices are having a dangerous impact on free speech and potentially stopping people expressing their views,” she continued.