Police officers are fed up with their bosses’ woke diktats

Among the maelstrom of allegations about two-tier policing, and a justice system where ethnicity still seems to be very much a factor in what sort of justice you can expect to receive, there has been a flash of reassurance for those longing for a return to common sense and fairness.

This came last week, when two officers from West Midlands Police knocked on the door of a suspected ‘anti-migrant’ protester in Coventry. Speaking through the intercom, one policeman tells the resident that they have been sent to deliver a leaflet ahead of an upcoming protest in nearby Nuneaton, where a child was allegedly raped by an asylum seeker.

Yet, in a surprising twist, the police officer apologised to the resident and described the purpose of his visit as a ‘load of bollocks’. He then went on to say:

‘You’ve got freedom of speech and there are no issues at all. I apologise and it’s really woeful. It’s not something I agree with, but I’ve been asked to do it. Just to drop a leaflet about being involved in a protest. It sounds bad, but it is what it is.’

In other words, the officer knew full well what he was doing was absurd, but he had no choice. He was following orders from his bosses. The resident’s response then captured the mood of much of the country:

‘Do me a favour. Take it back. Run back on it to them. Say we will no longer be silenced. And to fuck them off from me with love. Cheers.’

In my experience working in the police, officers like this man are by far in the majority. Many are furious about the inane, censorious tasks that now occupy their days. But they’re forced to express this in hushed tones in the canteen or the pub after work. Such is the culture of fear that, in recent years, views critical of police leadership are rarely expressed in the open.

Of course, this officer’s common sense should not detract from what was disturbing about the police visit. We know full well that it only happened because the resident was planning to attend an immigration protest. Specifically, a protest sparked by the alleged kidnapping and rape of a 12-year-old girl by an undocumented Afghan immigrant. If he had planned to attend a climate demo or a pro-Palestine protest, he would never have been visited. This is another clear example of two-tier policing.

Another problem – equally sinister – is that this visit suggests the police are keeping tabs on people who are opposed to mass undocumented immigration. Perhaps there is even a database of people who hold such views. Already we know police forces across the UK are busily recording so-called non-crime hate incidents. This allows them to secretly blacklist citizens who express legal, but unwoke opinions.

Then there’s the simple question of resources and police aims. In 2025, West Midlands Police had 700 fewer police officers and 500 fewer community-support officers than it did in 2010. It is currently 150 officers short of its target. So why was this under-staffed local constabulary spending its time leafleting potential protesters?

Unfortunately, the officer’s managers will now be aware of this encounter and it isn’t hard to guess what kind of view they will take of the matter. Indeed, as the persecution of the officer who fatally shot Chris Kaba showed, the Independent Office for Police Conduct is instinctively hostile to police on the beat. Nor does it take kindly to those who cock a snook at police chiefs’ politically correct values.

So I fear for the future of this good copper. If he does face official sanction for his common sense, he should go public as fast as possible. He would find that he has many friends out here in the real world – and in the ranks of the police, too.

Paul Birch is a retired police officer.