It appears that some startlingly large portion of recorded hate crimes are committed against the brave men and women in blue. This is a claim we should take with that proverbial shovelful of salt.

Police officers are victims in up to half of all hate crime prosecutions, statistics show, as body-worn cameras have made it easier to bring abusers to justice.

For North Yorkshire police, 53 per cent of all prosecuted hate crimes in 2019/20 involved a victim who was a police employee or officer, compared with less than a fifth in 2017/18.

West Midlands police said 43 per cent of all hate crimes charged in its area had a police victim, while Gwent Police, Warwickshire, West Yorkshire and the British Transport Police the figure was a third or more.

Note exactly what is being said. Which is not that one third, or one half, of all hate crimes are committed against policefolk. Rather, that one third, or one half, of those prosecuted are against policefolk. Which is something that is a rather different statement.

It could, in fact, be true that half of such hate crimes are committed against policefolk. Sure, there would have to be a certain suspension of disbelief and so on but it is possible in an infinite universe.

But Occam’s shaving kit and all that. Scrotes go after a copper for whatever reason and it gets recorded as a hate crime. Because penalties for hate crimes are higher than those committed for other reasons. Thus Plod upgrades the offence for, after all, this is Plod.

Recall the prosecution for a hate crime for the question “Is your horse gay?”

QED, eh?