When Your Police Are Captured—Past Policy Investigated
A look at biased British policing policy over the last few years
Saturday, February 20, 2021, began as a typical dreary, overcast day in Liverpool. But soon that all changed. Merseyside Police wanted to make a statement.
Officers donned their raincoats, jumped into their cars, and launched a new campaign. Using an electronic billboard, they broadcast the message: “Being offensive is an offence”—accompanied by a Pride flag.
The backlash was immediate. Many Brits were stunned. How could any police force justify such a message? What of their duty to free speech?
They later apologised, claiming the campaign—part of “Hate Awareness Week”—had been “well intentioned’ but “incorrect”.
Ironically, the event took place in a supermarket car park during Covid restrictions when the government had banned protests and leafleting.
What most didn’t know was that this paradoxically “protective” yet fascistic strain of progressive politics had already infected police forces up and down the country. And it continued well after Merseyside police’s little stunt too...
Misconduct Probe for Saying “Whiter Than White”
In September 2018, a senior Metropolitan Police officer faced possible dismissal for alleged racism after using the phrase "whiter than white" when addressing colleagues.
The detective superintendent, who worked in anti-corruption, was suspended from certain duties and investigated for gross misconduct.
The phrase, according to the Collins Dictionary, means "very pure, honest, and moral" and has no racial connotation. The officer said he used it to urge colleagues to be faultless and above reproach in their inquiries.
Discrimination Against Straight White Recruits
In February 2019, an employment tribunal ruled that Cheshire Police unlawfully discriminated against an "exceptional" candidate by rejecting him under so-called "positive action" policies.
Matthew Furlong, 25, applied to join the force, following in the footsteps of his father, a serving detective inspector. Despite passing the interview process, he was ultimately denied the role.
He was told “it was refreshing to meet someone as well-prepared as yourself” and that he “could not have done any more.” Yet, his application was rejected—not due to merit, but because he was a straight white male.
“Report Hate—Even Without Evidence”
In October 2019, Devon and Cornwall Police marked Hate Crime Awareness Week by releasing a series of online cartoons encouraging the public to report “hateful” behaviour— even if it isn’t a crime. The campaign assured people that they “don’t even need evidence” to file a report.
The cartoons depicted exclusively white perpetrators targeting non-white victims. One image showed a white man ripping off a Muslim woman’s hijab and punching her to the ground. Another depicted an elderly white driver refusing to let a black shopkeeper board a bus.
Another cartoon featured a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white girl telling a Middle Eastern boy, “stop playing with those, you’re going to make the toys dirty like your skin.” The boy then burst into tears.
Dropping “Islamist Terrorism” Over Fears of Islamophobia
In July 2020, senior police officials considered removing terms like "Islamist terrorism" and "jihadis" to avoid appearing Islamophobic.
The proposal was presented at an online event attended by Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the national head of counterterrorism policing, alongside a representative from the National Association of Muslim Police (NAMP).
Advocates argued that using the "Islamist" label reinforced negative stereotypes about Muslims and contributed to what they described as a “climate of Islamophobia”.
All-White Leadership Team Is “Not OK”
In January 2021, Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary Olivia Pinkney expressed concern over the lack of racial diversity in her leadership team.
Speaking about her Chief Officer group, she acknowledged that while it was half female and diverse in other ways, it remained entirely white.
“I’m really aware of that, and I’m doing what I can to mitigate in the short term,” she said, adding that she had a detailed plan—aligned with national policing strategies—to “shift the balance.”
“It’s not OK that we look like we do across UK policing,” she added. “My colleagues and I are determined to change that.”
Promoting Pronoun Awareness
In July 2021, Merseyside Police released a video promising to “promote pronoun awareness” during the city’s LGBTQ+ Pride weekend.
The video, titled “What Makes Merseyside Police Unique and United,” featured officers waving rainbow flags and pledging their support for the movement.
Detective Chief Inspector Helen Bennet stated: “I pledge to continue to promote pronoun awareness, ensuring Merseyside Police is a fantastic and inclusive place to work, no matter how you identify.”
Constable Emma Burns-Jones added: “I pledge to encourage colleagues to use gender-neutral terms.”
Allowing Criminals to Self-Identify
In May 2022, reports revealed that multiple British police forces were allowing criminals to self-identify their gender on official records.
At least nine police forces across England and Wales permitted suspects to be recorded as “non-binary” or “unknown and unspecified.” Some forces even claimed to recognise up to 67 different genders.
Lisa Townsend, the police and crime commissioner for Surrey, slammed the policy, arguing it corrupts crime data and could undermine the accuracy of police records, particularly in cases where biological sex is relevant to the offence.
Mandatory Black History Training
Later that May, police officers were instructed to undergo mandatory black history lessons as part of a nationwide effort to tackle racism in policing.
The Police Race Action Plan, launched by chief constables, aimed to create a police service that is “anti-racist” and better serves black communities.
As part of the plan, police leaders committed to “zero tolerance of racism” and pledged to ensure that every officer receives training on the history of black communities in their area.
The proposals included positive discrimination practices to make police forces more “representative” by increasing the number of black officers.
Being “Untoward” to Paedophiles
In July 2022, Wiltshire Police admitted they had not acted in a “wholly proportionate” manner after officers visited the home of feminist campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen, also known as Posie Parker, over comments she made about paedophiles in a video.
Keen, a well-known British YouTuber and activist, said that two officers arrived at her home to inform her that a complaint had been made against her for being “untoward about paedophiles.”
According to Keen, the officer admitted he had not even watched the video but stated that because someone had been offended, it had been recorded as a “hate crime.” When pressed, the officer could not clarify whether it was logged as an actual crime or as a "non-crime hate incident".
“All Female Officers Experience Sexual Harassment”
In September 2022, Deputy Chief Constable Maggie Blyth claimed that every female police officer has faced some form of sexual harassment during their career.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Blyth—who was appointed to a national role after the murder of Sarah Everard—was asked to provide examples of incidents she had witnessed.
Rather than citing specific cases, she responded: “This is not about me, but I think sexual harassment is about sitting in rooms where you have more male officers than women. Where you’re in a male-dominated environment—for any woman, that’s always challenging.”
Defending Trans Paedophile’s Feelings Over Victims
Also in September 2022, Sussex Police experienced backlash after warning social media users against making “hateful” comments about a convicted transgender paedophile.
The controversy highlighted the force’s broader “woke” policies, including the introduction of gender-neutral warrant cards. In November 2021, Sussex Police scrapped traditional warrant identifiers, which previously marked male officers with A or C and female officers with B or D.
The local crime commissioner condemned her own force, accusing it of “prioritising the hurt feelings” of a convicted offender over the trauma suffered by victims.
Referring to Paedophiles as “Minor-Attracted People”
In December 2022, Chief Constable Iain Livingstone of Police Scotland faced criticism after referring to paedophiles as "Minor-Attracted People" (MAPs) in an EU-linked report.
In his 2021/22 Year-End Report, Livingstone stated that Police Scotland’s Specialist Crime Division for Public Protection had been involved in the Horizon Europe Project, which aims to prevent child victimisation by engaging with “MAPs” (paedophiles) and offering them support, treatment, and guidance.
Opponents argued that softening language risks normalising paedophilia rather than tackling it as a serious criminal issue.
Millions Spent on Diversity and Inclusion Staff
In December 2022, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed that British police forces spent over £10 million annually on diversity, inclusion, and equality roles.
The request, submitted by Conservative Way Forward, found that the average police force employs five full-time diversity workers, with a combined salary of £210,000 per force per year. The roles were dedicated to promoting issues related to sexual, racial, and religious minorities.
Beyond salaries, forces spent an additional £3.6 million and committed 24,100 staff days to running equality training programmes.
Blocking Critics on Social Media
That same month, the National Police LGBT+ Network came under investigation for blocking critics on social media.
The organisation, which claims to help Britain’s 43 police forces develop “operational policing knowledge” on gay rights and inclusion, was accused of political activism after its official Twitter account (@LGBTPoliceUK) was found to be blocking individuals and groups critical of trans ideology and police involvement in activism.
The network was also accused of “threatening” opponents of transgender policies and openly backing Stonewall, a controversial charity, some of whose members have supported underage “gender-affirming” surgery.
In response to complaints, Staffordshire Police and West Midlands Police confirmed that their joint legal department was investigating the reasons behind the social media bans.
Selectively Investigating “Hate Speech”
In October 2023, a report by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) claimed that UK police were failing to investigate cases of hate speech against white people, while aggressively pursuing other forms of hate crime.
The study, authored by Marc Glendening, found that free speech was being stifled by a surge in hate crime investigations, particularly targeting those who criticise transgender ideology, homosexuality, or Islam.
In contrast, Glendening highlighted examples where police refused to act, including a London university welfare officer who posted the phrase “Kill All White Men.”
In another case, a model publicly claimed that “white people were brought up racist,” and a Cambridge academic also called for an “offensive” to “eliminate white people” as a class, but again, police did not follow up.
Avoid Saying “Man Up” and “Policeman”
In November 2023, it was revealed that police officers had been instructed to avoid using certain words and phrases, including “man up,” “OAP,” and “policeman,” over concerns they could cause offence.
A 12-page guidance document, published by Staffordshire Police, warned that “discrimination through language causes offence, patronises, and may be unlawful.”
The document also advised against using the phrase “high poverty rates” when describing deprived areas. Instead, they were told to refer to them as “communities with access to fewer opportunities.”
Bursaries for British African Students
In January 2024, British Transport Police (BTP) announced plans to launch a bursary exclusively for British African students as part of an effort to tackle “systemic racism” and “Afriphobia” within the force.
The scheme was to use funds from the Proceeds of Crime Act to finance a law course for a British African student, with the stated aim of improving representation of British African communities within the UK judicial system.
“Covering Up” Data to Criminals’ Ethnicity
In January 2025, it was revealed that police forces collected less data on the ethnicity of criminals than at any time in the past 15 years.
Government figures, released under Freedom of Information laws, revealed a sharp rise in the number of offences where no ethnicity is recorded.
The Ministry of Justice data also showed that the proportion of convicted child sex offenders with no ethnicity recorded jumped from 11.6% in 2010 to 28.7% in 2024.
For all sexual offences, the figure rose from 15% to 29% over the same period. In fact, the data showed that ethnicity was not just omitted for sexual crimes but across all offence types.
This followed evidence from the early 2000s that authorities had shied away from crimes committed by ethnic minorities due to fears of being labelled racist and/or stoking race wars.
Avoid Saying “Black Sheep” and “Blacklisted” to Prevent Offence
Again, last month, it was revealed that officers have been told to stop using terms like “black sheep” and “blacklisted” over concerns they could be offensive, according to a 2023 diversity guide issued to staff at Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Cambridgeshire Police.
The nine-page document claims such terms risk “portraying certain groups as inferior or superior to others” and should be avoided in police communications.
The guidance also instructs officers to use “pregnant person” instead of “pregnant woman” and warns against using “Christian-centric” language, including the word “faith”.
It further describes gender as “a social construct relating to behaviours and attributes”, asserting that “there is a wider range of gender identities than just male and female.”
Diagnosis From a Former Detective
Former Metropolitan Police detective Dominic Alder has recently published a series of articles detailing the systemic issues he witnessed during his career.
To crudely recap the crux of his argument: policing has been dragged into ideological battles, shifting focus away from law enforcement. There is no clear direction on what modern policing should be, and institutions like the Home Office and College of Policing are increasingly detached from frontline realities.
The disconnect is most evident in the palpable public frustration over forms of authoritarianism, such as Covid enforcement and “hate speech” policing, while serious crimes like theft are effectively decriminalised.
I highly recommend his articles on the policing revolution that’s needed here, why counter-terrorism unit Prevent is currently unfit for purpose here, and why police uniformly failed grooming/r*pe gang victims and survivors here.
Do you think if things stay the way they are our best days are ahead of us?
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Who appointed these disgusting people as senior police officers, they need to be named and shamed. I speak as a former police officer..
Many of these incidents don't appear to have been followed up.
We haven't seen an official change, for example, to the habit the police have formed of not recording ethnicity on charge sheets. This is a clear abnegation of their duty to the public, whom they should be defending and informing of threats to their safety.
This is making things worse, not better, for anybody trying to come to this country. For want of a better phrase - and no doubt contravening the current ludicrous rules on use of the English language - minorities are now all tarred with the same brush, which is unfair on those who are here legally and working to better themselves.
Can anybody give me a good reason for not reviling certain minorities who have come here and caused such trouble? And yet, I don't - I want everyone to be treated in the same just and balanced way, whatever their race.
We are a tolerant country, but our patience is waning, and the government had better not forget it.