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25
Oct
North Yorkshire Police 'not tin-eared' about hate-crime debate, but remains tight-lipped on policy
North Yorkshire Police is remaining tight-lipped about its policy towards investigating hate crimes, after London’s Metropolitan Police said this week it would no longer investigate non-crime hate incidents.
The Met’s announcement prompted the College of Policing and the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) to write to policing minister Sarah Jones, recommending that forces across the country should replicate the policy, ahead of a full review of non-crime hate incidents scheduled for publication in December.
Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, NPCC chair, said:
We are reviewing the police approach to dealing with non-crime hate incidents because the current system is not working like it should.
Police officers are operating in an increasingly polarised world with regulations that expect them to referee societal debate rather than focus on real-world threat and risk.
'No comment'
So the Stray Ferret asked North Yorkshire Police if it would indeed be following suit and adopting the Met’s approach of not investigating non-crime hate incidents.
But a spokesperson told us:
At this time we have no further comment to add.
However, last week, North Yorkshire Police’s deputy chief constable Scott Bisset was a little more forthcoming. In an online public meeting with Jo Coles, the deputy mayor for policing, fire and crime, he said:
I think it's fair to say there is a risk of policing being caught in the middle of this unless we are really clear on our core responsibilities and roles – which is essentially preventing and detecting crime and obviously, keeping communities safe.
Striking the balance between where is free speech, where is crime, where is the legitimate role of the police in a functioning democracy, is always difficult, and that's something we consider regularly as a force.
'Not tin-eared'
He denied that North Yorkshire Police was oblivious to the national debate, which has come to a head in recent weeks, fuelled in part by high-profile cases such as that of TV comedy writer Graham Linehan, who was arrested last month in connection with a series of posts he made on X (formerly Twitter) about “trans-identifying males”.
Dep Ch Insp Bisset said:
The force is not tin-eared about the issues playing out nationally, internationally or within our communities.
But we have a really important role in terms of ensuring our action is lawful and we have a lawful basis on which to take action where a crime is committed.
Hate crime incidents down
Last Monday, Ms Coles told a Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce meeting that "Harrogate probably has a disproportionate level of hate crime compared with some other parts of the region".
Asked what kinds of hate crime are most common in the area, the spokesperson told us:
The predominant hate crime recorded for Harrogate over the last three years is Racial, which constitutes about 65% of all hate crime.
The number of hate crime incidents recorded in Harrogate in 2025 is considerably down on that of 2024. In 2025, York and Scarborough have seen higher rates of hate crime than Harrogate.
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