As the end of 2018 draws nearer and nearer, the Christmas lights go up and everyone looks forward to putting yet another turbulent year behind them, it seems there are still a few moments of despair up 2018’s sleeves.
A dog has been accused of a racist hate crime after it curled one out on a neighbour’s front doorstep.
Yep, a dog – a breed of animal that is well-known for not being able to see the same spectrum of colour as humans, and who freely squat wherever they want, regardless of the situation or who might be watching – has been accused of racism by the homeowner whose front door was fouled.
The incident was reported to police, who noted: ‘An unknown dog has fouled outside of victim address and victim perceived this to be a racial incident.’
The accusation of racism towards the unknown dog is among more than 2,500 alleged hate crimes that have been deemed by some people as unworthy of police time, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Other incidents reported to police include: an envelope that had been opened and resealed, a road accident which involved a car bearing a Remembrance poppy, a disputed call by a line judge in a tennis match, and a dead rat found in a garden.
MP David Davies said these ‘non-crimes’ were a waste of police time.
He said:
This is part of the reason that police struggle to investigate serious offences such as home burglaries. People need to start thinking more carefully before they call the police.
Another dog-related incident that was reported to police read: ‘Suspect’s dog barking at victim.’
In other alleged hate crimes that were reported, one man claimed his neighbours were specifically parking outside his house and ‘targeting him due to him being black’.
Another entry stated: ‘Witness has had parking issues with her next-door neighbour, their children apparently throw stones and balls over the garden fence. Witness has recently found a dead rat in garden and perceives this to be racist.’
Another person was accused of being racist by ‘smoking heavily’ in a block of flats.
Elsewhere, a furious father called the police when his daughter lost a tennis match because, he believes, one of the line judges was racist. The police statement read: ‘Informant feels his daughter was subjected to racial discrimination at a tennis match where line calls went against her.’
In another case, a disgruntled passenger felt the need to call the police after they perceived the driver of the bus gave them a ‘racist look’.
Current police rules mean that officers have to respond to and record any allegation that is believed to be motivated by prejudice, even if it does not seem serious enough to be regarded as a hate crime.
Control room staff have to take note of the details of every reported incident, even if the person phoning the police does not want them to take any action.
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Charlie Cocksedge is a journalist and sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated from the University of Manchester with an MA in Creative Writing, where he learnt how to write in the third person, before getting his NCTJ. His work has also appeared in such places as The Guardian, PN Review and the bin.