Arrested for Use of the Word ‘Lesbian’

Policing is currently at a crisis point in Britain. As almost 95% of crime goes unsolved, officer morale is down, and public trust at an all-time low. For all intents and purposes, the police are now much like the NHS—a non-service the taxpayer is forced to fund but cannot use. Which is why (again like the NHS) the wealthy bite the bullet and go private, as witnessed by the rise in private security.

From a government perspective, policing should never be anything other than a simple choice: either you opt for an even-handed, efficient constabulary which keeps the peace, or you allow the anarchy currently playing out on the streets of London, which has become a looter’s paradise.

What you absolutely cannot sustain (but what we’ve got nonetheless) is a far-left political lobby masquerading as a police force. This force favours the criminal at every juncture, arresting homeownersinstead of burglars, threatening shopkeepers who stand up to shoplifters, and handcuffing members of thepublic who refuse to be held hostage by the next Just Stop Oil protest.

In lieu of real crimes, our increasingly laissez-faire constabularies have become enamoured of ‘hate incidents’—episodes where no actual crime takes place, but someone somewhere may have been offended. Particularly guilty in this respect are West Yorkshire Police, content to shirk their responsibilities in favour of monitoring ‘misgendering’ and ‘dead-naming.’ Earlier this month, Superintendent Helen Brear took the time to berate the public for accurately calling the latest junior officers ‘baby-faced,’ while in March the force decided to investigate an autistic schoolboy who scuffed a Koran, rather than those sending him death threats.

A ‘pick n’ mix’ approach to crime cannot work, but one triaged by identity politics is a recipe for disaster. Last week the force achieved a new low when they arrested a 16-year-old autistic girl who suffers from scoliosis, on suspicion of a “homophobic public order offence.” Her crime? Commenting to her mother that the female officer in attendance was “a lesbian like Nana.” The child had ironically been driven home (due to intoxication) after attending the Leeds’ Pride celebrations with her sister. The footage, widely-circulated on social media, is disturbing:

@WeAreFairCop – shocking behaviour by @WestYorksPolice https://t.co/lE7drPxoye

— Winifred Hepple (@Hepplewin) August 10, 2023

The girl was visibly terrified, cowered behind the stairs, and repeatedly punched herself in the head before being manhandled by the seven police officers who dragged her screaming from her home. She was then questioned by police, and spent a total of 20 hours in a cell.

This shameful incident raises a number of questions about West Yorkshire Police, and about British policing in general. First and foremost, there is the question of the legality of the arrest itself. The statement was made in the confines of the child’s home, which former police officer and Fair Cop campaigner Harry Miller insists means that a ‘public order offence’ could not have taken place:

‘This was a home invasion by an organised crime gang called West Yorkshire Police.’

Former police officer, Harry Miller, argues the detainment of a teenager with autism is ‘unlawful’ and calls for ‘sacking’ of West Yorkshire police officers. pic.twitter.com/fWkciZS8zE

— GB News (@GBNEWS) August 11, 2023

Furthermore, there is quite rightly the question of whether the child’s autism or disability were actively factored into the equation. The utterly dismissive response to the girl’s apology from the officer in question—“I don’t care, you are getting arrested”—suggests that personal feelings were overriding professional duty. Finally, the ridiculous number of officers involved to deal with a minor speaks for itself.

Worse still is the West Yorkshire Police update, in response to the public backlash, which included the following weasel words:

West Yorkshire Police takes its responsibilities around the welfare of young people taken into and around neurodiversity very seriously. We also maintain that our officers and staff should not have to face abuse while working to keep our communities safe.

Not only is this statement entirely contradicted by the contents of the mother’s video evidence, one also has to ask in what universe should serving police officers not expect to face ‘abuse,’ particularly when that amounts to nothing more than hearing words which one does not like? If you cannot handle a child’s observation that you look like a lesbian (an accurate one, incidentally), then frankly you are unfit to be a member of the emergency services, let alone a police officer.

The glorious absurdity of the ‘hate incident’ is on full display here. The gay month of Pride, which seems to run at least 12 months on the police calendar, is now a state-mandated celebration in Britain, and (one could be forgiven for thinking) the sole purview of many constabularies. To that end, what precisely is the officer objecting to in the use of the word ‘lesbian’? Surely by considering the comment a slur, the officer should herself be detained for the hate crime of homophobia?

The last straw in this disgraceful episode however, is the weekend statement by West Yorkshire Police that the teenage girl “will face no further action.” In other words, the public discourse is to be enforced with Stasi-like zeal, unless there is a wide enough outcry, in which case the matter will quietly be dropped. Why not try that on with murder and see how you get on?

Everything about this case stinks, and if the officers involved are not sacked alongside serious consequences higher up the police food chain, this will be a missed opportunity to get the force back on track. The child’s mother has confirmed she is seeking legal advice. With any luck, this will further shame West Yorkshire Police into remembering their responsibility to protect and serve, rather than politick.

Until there is urgent reform within the British constabularies, I’d advise the citizens of West Yorkshire to boycott the policing council tax charge en masse. What are they going to do? Arrest everyone? They’re already doing that, but at least this way, you’d get arrested for the rare honour of actually breaking the law.

This piece first appeared in The European Conservative, and is reproduced by kind permission.

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