Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has called on UK police forces to record more Non-Hate Crime Incidents, reversing changes made by the previous government. Privacy and civil liberties NGO Big Brother Watch found that police recorded 12,340 incidents this year – including trivial actions like children writing with chalk on the pavement & acts of sticking flags on poles.
The NGO’s head of research and investigations Jake Hurfurt said that police “should protect free speech & privacy “by only putting details on file only when necessary.”