Sara Thornton says funding cuts mean forces do not have resources or time to do so

A senior police chief has said officers should not have to deal with reports of misogyny and it should not be a criminal offence, calling for them to focus instead on “core policing”.

Sara Thornton, the chair of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), told her organisation’s annual conference that while recording complaints of misogynist abuse might be desirable, police did not have the time or resources.

Thornton said the funding crisis meant police chiefs should focus on core policing. “It is this core policing which is seriously stretched. This is surely part of the police covenant with the public.”

She said: “Treating misogyny as a hate crime is a concern for some well-organised campaigning organisations. In July, chiefs debated whether we should record such allegations even when no crime is committed.

“But we do not have the resources to do everything that is desirable and deserving … I want us to solve more burglaries and bear down on violence before we make more records of incidents that are not crimes.”

Thornton later told reporters: “I’m not saying misogyny is not an issue. What I’m saying is recording it as a crime necessarily the best way to reduce that, to have a criminal justice solution to an issue which is about the way people behave and treat each other?

“What I’m questioning is whether making it into a criminal offence, and thinking of it as solely in terms of a criminal justice solution, is the best way to deal with what is essentially an issue about how we all behave and treat each other.”

Sam Smethers, the chief executive of the Fawcett Society, said Thornton had got it wrong. “Covering the basics is important, but we note that the chair of the NPCC doesn’t say that attacks on people because of their race, religion, or disability should stop being treated as a hate crime,” she said.

“All we are asking is that abuse and harassment aimed at women, because they are women, should be taken seriously for what it is – a hate crime. The police need to have resources to carry out the responsibilities society demands of them. But they cannot abdicate their responsibility to women. We have to start taking misogyny seriously.”

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In an apparent rebuke to the criminal investigation into child abuse claims regarding the former prime minister Edward Heath, Thornton said: “Historic[al] investigations are another example of issues that matter very much to some, but they undoubtedly take resources away from dealing with crime today. While I understand those who have been harmed seek answers, I remain unconvinced that it is appropriate to commit significant resources investigating allegations against those who have died.”

Thornton, who stands down as chair next year, added: “Neither investigating gender-based hate incidents nor investigating allegations against those who have died are bad things to do necessarily. They just cannot be priorities for a service that is overstretched. Giving clarity to the public about core policing is a priority, and it has not received enough attention in recent years.”

She also said figures from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire Services showed that violent crime took up 14% of officers’ time,

concerns for safety, missing people and suspicious circumstances 25% and domestic incidents, not crimes, 10% .

She said data from 23 forces showed that mental health demands on police are rising and that they are used as an emergency health service when the NHS is unavailable. “The peak time for incidents is around 4pm Monday to Friday, likely to coincide with when health services close.”

The home secretary, Sajid Javid, told police he would try to secure more funding, but that they could still do more to improve that did not rely on more resources.

He said police had an extra £1bn in funding over the past three years, and that some forces were more effective than others: “This can’t all be blamed on funding,” he told the NPCC and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners.