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Police will not record "frivolous" accusations of offensive language in a reorganization of the way forces record crimes. Police Minister Chris Philp said officers 'are not police' and being rude or insulting is not 'police business', as he announced plans for the government would come into force next month, which could generate disputes with neighbors and Twitter arguments not registered as offenses. . The reforms extend to the Home Office's so-called counting rules for how police record reported incidents, in a bid to cut "unnecessary red tape" and free up officers to spend more time investigating crime.
As part of efforts to "break down the barriers" to combat crime, Philp also said police officers should not be expected to handle mental health cases and act as a "surrogate" for victims from other agencies. .
In a speech on Thursday outside the offices of the Law Society of England and Wales in central London, he said: "We will make it clear that frivolous allegations of malicious communications should not be recorded as an offense unless it has been clearly established. the criminal threshold. met.
The agents are not police officers and when something that does not reach the criminal threshold is reported, we do not want it to be investigated or reported as a crime.
"We do not believe that being rude or insulting is a police matter.
“Officers are not police officers and when something that does not reach the criminal threshold is reported, we do not want it to be investigated or reported as a crime. We don't want to waste police time with that kind of thing.
Earlier, the minister admitted there was more to be done to track down reported crimes, but said the red tape involved in recording some incidents was "wasting" police time.
The move follows recommendations from the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), which said a productivity review estimated that 443,000 officer hours are spent filling out forms and dealing with unnecessary administrative tasks, which is the equivalent of witnessing 220,000 incidents of domestic violence or 270,000 robberies.
It comes after police received new legal guidance on how to record hate incidents that do not involve a crime, with officers 'prioritizing free speech', signaling a shift from the report to recommendations made in the 1999 Macpherson Report, after the racist murder. from black teenager Stephen Lawrence, who said the Home Office and police needed a "comprehensive system of reporting and recording all racist incidents and offences".
The Home Office said the changes will save police time by no longer recording instances of messages that could offend someone or where a public disorder occurred but was resolved.
But this will require the approval of a supervisor, such as a police sergeant.
Officers should be on the streets investigating crimes like robberies rather than comments made online, the department said.
The police will also be able to determine if these issues should be handled by social media companies.
We want to provide the best possible police service to the public and the work of the Police Productivity Review is aimed at removing barriers and improving efficiency.
Another change will see crimes reported for a single incident be recorded systematically under the main crime, rather than multiple entries in a database that effectively re-registers the same case.
But the Home Office has insisted that the police will continue to pursue any crime involved.
The reforms will also make it easier to deregister a crime when there is sufficient evidence that no crime has been committed, although such a decision would again require appropriate approval, the department said.
The changes will mean that the number of crimes recorded by police, which have seen an increase in reports of incidents such as sexual assault, harassment, fraud and violence, could drop.
But ministers said the England and Wales Crime Survey, which asks people about their experience with crime, will not be affected. The latest survey results suggest that the overall crime rate has decreased.
Police chiefs welcomed the changes following earlier concerns that the way crimes are recorded could inflate crime rates.
But activists and critics may wonder if the reforms risk failing to adequately investigate possible crimes or accurately recording crime rates and leading to artificially low numbers.
Dame Vera Baird, a former victims' commissioner, said police need to tread carefully, reportedly telling the Daily Telegraph: "It's quite dangerous to mess with the accepted way of recording crime unless there's no fundamental justification real for it."
Andy Marsh, chief executive of the College of Police, said officers and staff "must be able to maintain high standards and properly record and investigate reported crimes without getting bogged down in unnecessary bureaucracy."
Speaking for the first time since becoming NPCC Chairman, Gavin Stephenson said: 'Police officers need to be totally focused on keeping people safe and making sure they feel safe.
“We want to provide the best possible police service to the public and the work of the Police Productivity Review is aimed at removing barriers and improving efficiency.”
PA files
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