Police are keeping non-crime hate incidents because "it's easy policing", a critic has claimed on GB News.
Harry Miller, a former police officer who works with free speech campaign group Fair Cop, said officers don't need evidence or court proceedings to record these incidents.
"You don't need any evidence, you don't need to go to court, you just need to look at someone and say, 'they're hateful' and slap a non-crime hate incident on them without any due process whatsoever," he told GB News.
He compared the practice to "stamping your forehead with a big 'H' for heretic", arguing it targets those who say things "the establishment does not like".
Harry Miller hit out at police bosses for being 'so keen' to keep non-crime hate incidents
GB NEWS / PA
Miller described the system as "lazy, political policing" that "the Stasi would absolutely enjoy".
His comments come as a new Policy Exchange think tank report revealed police officers spend around 60,000 hours annually investigating some 13,000 non-crime hate incidents.
The report, published on Monday, urges ministers to abolish the recording of these incidents, arguing they distract police from fighting actual crime.
David Spencer, a former Metropolitan Police detective chief inspector who authored the report, said the system is having a "devastating impact" on public perception of policing.
"Too often police chiefs have chosen to focus their attention on matters other than the fight against those crimes which most affects the public," Spencer said.
The analysis revealed Essex Police recorded non-crime hate incidents at a significantly higher rate than other forces last year.
Martin Daubney was joined by Harry Miller
GB NEWS
The force logged 21.5 incidents per 100 officers annually - twice the national rate and three times that of the Metropolitan Police.
Recent examples of recorded incidents include someone refusing to shake hands in a dispute over gender identity, and a "rough" haircut reported by a customer who claimed his barber was "aggressive" following a discussion about the Ukraine war.
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Police have also logged cases involving schoolchildren, vicars and doctors, including a vicar recorded as a suspect for saying it was a sin to be gay.
The Home Office is now working to introduce new "common sense" guidance for recording these incidents.
Allison Pearson was visited by police GB NEWSUnder the changes, police will only record cases where there is a clear risk to community tensions.
Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe has backed calls for parliamentary oversight of the system.
"Whether something is a non-crime hate incident is a subjective test based on guidance, producing inconsistent outcomes," he said.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper believes the incidents can be a crucial tool for tracking abuse against Jewish and Muslim communities.
However, she has indicated current guidance needs revision as it's not effectively capturing sufficient incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia.
