Member

We are left asking the question: why did the police get drawn into this area? I would say that there are three broad reasons. The first, as I have commented on already, is the rise of the internet. The second is a growing feeling that anyone who causes an insult needs to be blamed. The police are the 24-hour social engineers who are available and can help, and so they get the complaint. The link to the recording of crime, which I mentioned earlier, is the third reason. I urge the Minister to treat this as being of equal importance to the removing of non-crime hate incidents.