I’m 60. I was brought up to believe that one of the many privileges of being born in Britain is that we do not live in fear of the police. They serve us. They protect us.
As a Jew, that feeling was even more pronounced. Jews have been persecuted by the state throughout history. But as a freeborn Englishman, the opposite was true: the police would protect me.
When it comes to terror plots and active, direct threats, the police can be magnificent. I benefitted from this myself some years ago when I was found to be on an Islamist hit list. For obvious reasons I won’t go into details, but the police were wonderful. Flawless and brilliant.
But something has nonetheless gone very wrong with modern policing. There is a deep malaise in the mindset of decision makers which leads to grotesque caricatures of what policing should be.
Instead of focusing on crimes that actually matter to people, they trawl social media looking for “offence”. And instead of targeting those who support terror, they go after those who expose that support.
Yesterday the Telegraph revealed that a Jewish counter-protester to one of the regular “Free Palestine” marches was arrested and charged after he was seen holding a placard satirising Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader who was targeted by the Israeli exploding pager operation. Nasrallah survived but was killed in an air strike a week later.
In his police questioning, the Jewish counter-protester was repeatedly asked if he agreed that the image would offend “clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel” activists. I wish it was shocking that the police consider offending activists who support a proscribed terrorist group to be cause for them to charge someone. But there is now a clear pattern, with policing targeting those who oppose terror and anti-Semitism, and protecting those who support it.
A couple of weeks ago the Telegraph uncovered the caution given by Kent Police to a retired special constable for warning about the threat of anti-Semitism. Last year the Met pinned down a counter-protestor carrying a banner reading “Hamas is terrorist” at a march and then arrested him. They then imposed bail conditions banning him from attending any protest relating to Palestine. A judge later threw out the conditions, ruling that they were neither proportionate nor necessary.
But when marchers chant “globalise the intifada” – the meaning of which was seen in Washington on Wednesday, when two Israeli embassy employees were murdered in cold blood – the police stand and watch. And when banners express support for “resistance”, alongside praise for Hamas and Hezbollah, the police act to protect those who support terror.
At a march in Manchester days after the October 7 2023 massacre, for example, an enormous banner reading “Manchester supports Palestinian resistance” was protected by police standing alongside it.
It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the police have not merely lost the plot – they have become part of the problem.
I’m 60. I was brought up to believe that one of the many privileges of being born in Britain is that we do not live in fear of the police. They serve us. They protect us.
As a Jew, that feeling was even more pronounced. Jews have been persecuted by the state throughout history. But as a freeborn Englishman, the opposite was true: the police would protect me.
When it comes to terror plots and active, direct threats, the police can be magnificent. I benefitted from this myself some years ago when I was found to be on an Islamist hit list. For obvious reasons I won’t go into details, but the police were wonderful. Flawless and brilliant.
But something has nonetheless gone very wrong with modern policing. There is a deep malaise in the mindset of decision makers which leads to grotesque caricatures of what policing should be.
Instead of focusing on crimes that actually matter to people, they trawl social media looking for “offence”. And instead of targeting those who support terror, they go after those who expose that support.
Yesterday the Telegraph revealed that a Jewish counter-protester to one of the regular “Free Palestine” marches was arrested and charged after he was seen holding a placard satirising Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader who was targeted by the Israeli exploding pager operation. Nasrallah survived but was killed in an air strike a week later.
In his police questioning, the Jewish counter-protester was repeatedly asked if he agreed that the image would offend “clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel” activists. I wish it was shocking that the police consider offending activists who support a proscribed terrorist group to be cause for them to charge someone. But there is now a clear pattern, with policing targeting those who oppose terror and anti-Semitism, and protecting those who support it.
A couple of weeks ago the Telegraph uncovered the caution given by Kent Police to a retired special constable for warning about the threat of anti-Semitism. Last year the Met pinned down a counter-protestor carrying a banner reading “Hamas is terrorist” at a march and then arrested him. They then imposed bail conditions banning him from attending any protest relating to Palestine. A judge later threw out the conditions, ruling that they were neither proportionate nor necessary.
But when marchers chant “globalise the intifada” – the meaning of which was seen in Washington on Wednesday, when two Israeli embassy employees were murdered in cold blood – the police stand and watch. And when banners express support for “resistance”, alongside praise for Hamas and Hezbollah, the police act to protect those who support terror.
At a march in Manchester days after the October 7 2023 massacre, for example, an enormous banner reading “Manchester supports Palestinian resistance” was protected by police standing alongside it.
It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the police have not merely lost the plot – they have become part of the problem.