The House of Lords has voted to abolish the use of “non-crime hate incidents” (NCHIs).
NCHIs have been heavily criticised for their misuse and for being a waste of police time.
People to have found themselves on the receiving end of a NCHI include Christian street preachers quoting the Bible or questioning Islam, children issuing playground insults, and friends bantering with each other.
One such case was John Steele, a 60-year-old street preacher, who last year publicly compared Islamic and Christian teachings on how husbands should treat their wives, quoting Quran 4:34 and Ephesians 5:25, which states, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her." Police subsequently threatened Steele with arrest and said they would be recording an NCHI but it was dropped after an intervention by The Christian Institute.
The House of Lords voted in favour of Amendment 387B to the Crime and Policing Bill, which was tabled by Lord Young, founder of the Free Speech Union, and former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe.
While the vote will not force the government to abandon the use of NCHIs, the Free Speech Union said it “put increasing pressure on the Government to end their use” and it represented a “major victory”.
Lord Young, citing some of the more ridiculous uses of NCHIs said, “It’s hard not to laugh, but for the people who’ve had NCHIs recorded against them, it’s no laughing matter. If you apply for a position or a voluntary role that requires you to carry out an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, an NCHI can show up on your record.
“That’s why I say NCHIs have a chilling effect on free speech. People are rightly concerned that if they say something that another person takes offence at, it can permanently blot their copybook and may prevent them getting a job as a teacher or a carer, or volunteering at a charity like the Samaritans.
"There’s also the broader concern that the amount of time the police are spending on investigating and recording ‘non-crimes’ is undermining public confidence in the police.”
The Christian Institute has expressed its support for NCHIs to be abolished.
Simon Calvert, Deputy Director for Public Affairs at The Christian Institute, speaking ahead of Monday's debate, said, "It’s shocking to think that for years we’ve had a system where Police have been able to record unproven, politically motivated complaints against Christians and others.
"These malicious allegations of being 'hateful' could seriously impact a person‘s career prospects.
"It’s Orwellian and it’s way past time not only for that system to be abolished but for all of the erroneous information held against innocent people to be deleted."
