Police refuse to prosecute over swastika sent to Jewish students

Police refused to prosecute a man who sent an image of the Star of David intertwined with the Nazi swastika to Jewish students and activists because they deemed it was not offensive enough.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary decided that the image, which was sent to the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and a leading campaigner against anti-Semitism, was not 'grossly offensive' and therefore not a crime.

Instead, the force classified the incident as a non-crime hate incident (NCHI), it was reported last night by the Telegraph.

The case came to light as Essex Police continue to investigate the Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson over an alleged Islamophobic social media post, which she claimed was being treated as an NCHI, but which the force said was being probed as a suspected criminal offence.

The Pearson case has revealed how thousands of NCHIs are now being recorded, including one made against a nine-year-old who called a fellow classmate a 'retard'.

Last night, it also emerged that an NCHI stays on a person's police file for six years, even if it is recorded against a child.

The record can stay on longer – for life – if the recording force decides to keep it. In the latest case, a man used his account on X to send offensive messages to the UJS and Alex Hearn, of Labour Against Anti-Semitism, last month.

The UJS had written online messages about the increase in anti-Semitism, particularly on university campuses.

The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, responded with a bloodied swastika and Star of David, with the caption: 'The irony of becoming what you once hated.'

He further accused the UJS of 'exploiting [anti-Semitism] to push pro-genocide propaganda and deflect Israel's responsibility for murdering 40,000 civilians'.

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But after Mr Hearn complained, an officer from Cambridgeshire Constabulary wrote back saying the message had to be 'grossly offensive' and pass 'a very high legal threshold' for it to be an offence under the Malicious Communications Act.

The officer added that he did 'not believe that they [the messages] are grossly offensive as per the legislation, and as such no criminal offence has taken place'.

Mr Hearn said: 'If posting a swastika, the symbol of evil and the Holocaust, at Jews is not grossly offensive, then nothing is.

'Using the swastika to intimidate Jews, only for the police to diminish its impact and message is not only ridiculous but offensive. This two-tier racism is making a mockery of law, order and justice.'

Last night, Donna Jones, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the Isle of Wight, said: 'Police should not be investigating non-crimes. That's not their job.'