Police record 'hate incident' after neighbour blasts Bob Marley songs at black homeowner 'to mock her'

27 November 2024, 19:00

A neighbour who played Bob Marley songs at volume 'to mock' their black neighbour has had the incident recorded by police as non-crime hate incident (NCHI).

The black homeowner complained to North Wales Police after the neighbour began blasting tracks by the Jamaican reggae icon from her home address.

North Wales Police said the incident showed “racial prejudice” following the complaint, adding that the choice of reggae artist was simply a “way to mock her”.

The force recorded 126 Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHI) between June 2023 and June 2024 according to a Freedom of Information Request (FoI).

The requests also revealed a separate NCHI by the same force involving racism, after a youth allegedly ran through a man’s garden.

Police can record NCHIs if a person believes a specific incident involved hate of any kind, according to the force.

Noise issues in isolation have long been considered a council complaint, with reports of Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCHI) on the rise among UK police forces.

The call log involving the Bob Marley fan revealed: “Further issues with her neighbour who has been playing music, which she believes was in order to get a reaction from her”.

“IP [interested party] also states that the suspect has been playing Bob Marley music, which she states is another way to mock her as she is black,” a summary of the incident from police call logs read.

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The location and date of the incident has not been disclosed by the force, with the black homeowners identity remaining anonymous, according to The Telegraph.

Toby Young, the director of the Free Speech Union, told the outlet the complainant should have been told “to stop wasting police time”.

“You would hope that if someone reported their neighbour for playing Bob Marley they would be told to stop wasting police time,” he said.

“It’s as if police officers have had their common sense surgically removed by race activists.”

The second incident involving a man running through a homeowner's garden was revealed in the NCHI as: “IP [interested party] reporting that a youth has jumped over his fence and has ran through his garden.”

The call log data following the incident, which took place in August 2024, revealed: “IP believes this to be bullying and racist.”

Andrew RT Davies MS, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, said: “Non-crime hate incidents are a complete waste of police time and must be scrapped.”

It comes as police dropped an investigation into journalist Allison Pearson relating to a tweet,

Essex Police visited Pearson’s home amid an investigation into alleged incitement to racial hatred.

However, following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service the force will seek no further action against the Telegraph columnist.

The shadow home secretary subsequently called on the Government to change the guidelines on non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) in the wake of the case against Ms Pearson being dropped.