Police probed ‘hate incident’ after woman hung dirty underwear on washing line
Police have recorded a bizarre non-crime hate incident after a woman with an Italian surname complained about soiled underwear being hung on a neighbour’s washing line following England’s defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final.
The unusual case in North Wales saw the complainant report that “known offenders” had displayed large, dirty underpants for over two months, reports The Sun.
The woman believed the underwear display was targeted at her due to her Italian heritage and was connected to England’s loss in the penalty shootout at Wembley.
According to North Wales police records, the complaint stated: “Known offenders have hung a very large, soiled pair of underpants on their washing line. They have been there for over two months.”
The police summary continued: “The [injured party] believes that [they] are aimed at her because she has an Italian surname and it is in regards to the football.”
The incident was recorded under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 as part of efforts to track cases “clearly motivated by intentional hostility” that could significantly escalate.
The case emerges amid growing concerns about the police recording of non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs), with even the country’s top prosecutor expressing doubts. Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions, recently told the Times Crime and Justice Commission: “I had to look up what on Earth the term meant – I was puzzled by it.”
He added: “Even within the police service there has been some surprise at the level of non-crime hate incidents that have been investigated.”
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Between January and June this year, around 13,000 NCHIs were recorded by police forces. Recent examples of other unusual NCHIs include a case where police recorded an incident after someone refused to shake hands following a gender row in Warwickshire.
In another case, a man complained about receiving an “aggressive” haircut after discussing Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine with his barber, who could speak Russian.
Other recorded incidents included a German woman being offended at being compared to a Rottweiler and a neighbour taking issue with being called “Leonard” during a hedge dispute, claiming it was homophobic.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp has criticised police forces for investigating such incidents, saying their actions had undermined “confidence in policing…The police should not waste any valuable time on incidents like this,” he said. “There is plenty of real crime they should be preventing and solving.”
Former Metropolitan Police detective Peter Bleksley also condemned the recording of such incidents, stating: “This is ridiculous and shows how disconnected police are from what the public want.
“No wonder there is a crime wave in this country.
“The guidelines suggest you should only intervene in cases like this where there is fear of escalation – who ever had a fear of escalation after a bad haircut?”