Dirty underwear and rough haircut amongst non-crime hate incidents investigated

A soiled pair of underwear and a rough haircut were amongst the complaints investigated by police as potential non-crime hate incidents (NCHI) it has been revealed.

The first incident occurred in September 2021 with North Wales Police receiving the complaint that neighbours had “hung a very large, soiled pair of underpants on their washing line” for the past two months.”

The force categorised the complaints as an NCHI as the alleged victim had an Italian surname and the incident happened in the wake of Italy’s victory over England in the European Championship final, the Telegraph reports.

The incident summary reports: “Known offenders have hung a very large soiled pair of underpants on their washing line, they have been there for over two months.

“The IP [injured party] believes that [they] are aimed at her because she has an Italian surname and it is in regards to the football.”

In the year leading up to this June, more than 13,000 such complaints were recorded by police across the country.

These included a “rough haircut” given to a Russian-speaking Lithuanian after a discussion with his barber about the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Other reports include a German woman being called a “rottweiler” and a suspected homophobic remark after a man was called a “leonard” during a hedge dispute.

A primary school-aged child was also investigated for calling another a “retard” and a secondary school pupil was spoken to after telling a classmate that they smelt “like fish”.

On Thursday, the head of the police standards body warned that the way police recorded non-crime incidents threatened to undermine public confidence in officers.

Lord Herbert, chairman of the College of Policing, said trust was being damaged by the perception that forces were getting involved in “mere disputes” at the expense of tackling crimes such as shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

According to the College of Policing, a non-crime hate incident is “any incident where a crime has not been committed, but where it is perceived by the reporting person or any other person that the incident was motivated by hostility or prejudice.”

Hostility or prejudice can be based on factors such as race, sexuality, religion, disability or gender and can be recorded where the alleged behaviour falls short of criminal activity, but the surrounding circumstances suggest that the behaviour may contribute to – or become evidence of – a course of criminal conduct.