A member of the public will receive a different response from the police for the same kind of crime or incident, depending on where they live. That is according to a report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC).
The mainstream press made much of the report finding that call handlers in a number of forces are encouraging victims to carry out enquiries themselves. As the report put it, ‘in other words to conduct their own initial investigations. This included suggesting that victims ask neighbours if they had seen anything, that they check for CCTV in the area and that they research well-known second-hand sales websites to see if their stolen property was advertised for sale. Victims were then provided with a crime reference number and asked to re-contact the force if they discovered any new information or evidence. Placing the responsibility for the investigation entirely on the victim is completely inappropriate.’
HMIC says that it found examples of crimes being recorded, closed and filed the same day, sometimes within minutes of the call. After the crime was filed, HMIC found that, in the vast majority of cases, there was no further contact made with the victim. This expectation by forces that the victim should investigate his own crime, plus the swiftness with which reports of this kind are being closed, is in the words of the inspectors ‘both surprising and a matter of significant concern’.
The report added that in many cases, in forces operating the desk-based investigation policy, victims of crime are not being provided with even a basic level of investigation by the police. The report said: “The likelihood of a crime report being pursued further than simply recording it, appears to be based on the extent of the victim’s immediate knowledge of the existence of any witness, forensic or CCTV evidence. This is unacceptable.”
The report, ‘Core Business: an inspection into crime prevention, police attendance and the use of police time’, examines all 43 forces in England and Wales. It looks at three principal aspects of day-to-day policing: prevention of crime; how crime is investigated and offenders are brought to justice; and freeing up and using police time more efficiently (which includes the use of modern technology). You can also view details by county force.
HMI Roger Baker, who led the inspection, said: “Police forces have done a good job in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour, leading to long-term reductions over the last ten years. However, we were concerned to find that a member of the public will receive a different response from the police for the same type of crime or incident, depending on where they live; this sort of postcode lottery has to stop and a consistent approach applied across England and Wales.
“It is only by fully understanding how they use their staff that police forces can ensure that they are efficient and responsive. We found that this vital element of evaluation and analysis is still lacking in the majority of forces, with fewer than a quarter of forces investigating demand in order to prioritise and organise their workforce. In this age of austerity it’s more important than ever that forces understand how to prioritise their resources.”
And HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Thomas Winsor said: “The oxygen of effective policing is intelligence. Information is useless if it cannot be found and used at the time and in the circumstances in which it is needed. And in policing, if it is inaccessible to those who need it, great harm may occur which could and should have been prevented. Despite this, in too many respects, police forces have failed to embrace and exploit the capacities of modern technology, and have established information systems which even now lack necessary standards of interoperability. Steps are now being taken in this respect – and they are to be welcomed – but progress until now has been too slow, insular and isolationist. This must change urgently; for as long as these material shortcomings persist, lives are at risk.
“England and Wales has 43 police forces. There are not, and never have been, 43 best ways of doing something. Whilst the roots and much of the practice of policing are local, and will remain so, police forces must collectively recognise that it is in the public interest that every force must understand and adopt best practice, to be applied in the most efficient and effective way in each police force area.” According to the HMIC, the main aspects of the report are as follows:
Response to calls
HMIC was concerned by the significant variation in the way in which forces approach police attendance in response to calls from the public. Although a small number of forces aim to attend all reports of crimes and incidents, most forces decide whether an officer will attend or the matter will be dealt with over the telephone, using set criteria. In addition, around a third of forces were failing to identify vulnerable and repeat victims. HMIC recommends urgent work is needed to establish national, consistently used definitions of what constitutes a ‘vulnerable victim’ and a ‘repeat victim’ in order to bring a uniformity of approach across all forces.
Understanding attendance at crimes
HMIC was concerned to find that almost half of all forces were unable to provide details of the reported crimes that they had attended. This is unacceptable and HMIC strongly recommends that these forces address this issue quickly. Forces cannot adequately assess the service they are providing to victims, or properly understand the demands being placed upon them, if they lack this basic information.
Quality of investigation
HMIC found that for reports of crime such as house burglaries and robberies, there was clear evidence of investigative activity and supervision. However, in some forces crime reported over the telephone showed little evidence of being investigated. Of even greater concern were instances where HMIC inspectors observed call-handlers in some forces encouraging victims to carry out their own investigations.
Knowing where suspects are
Another issue requiring immediate action is the finding that almost half (18) of all forces were unable to tell inspectors either the number of named suspects yet to be arrested, or the number of suspects who had failed to answer police bail. A further seven forces were found to have unsatisfactory levels of activity or supervision when a small number of ‘wanted person’ files were reviewed.
Demand
HMIC found that most forces only have a basic understanding of their demand and the performance and workload of their officers and staff. It is essential in this period of austerity that decisions in relation to resource distribution and levels of public service are made with accuracy and certainty. This is critical to the effectiveness and efficiency of the police and more work needs to be done by forces to improve their understanding.
Inadequate technology
The national picture in relation to the use of technology by the police can only be described as inadequate. The absence of a national police information strategy and the fact that the Police ICT company is not yet fully operational, despite having been established for some time, has contributed to this position.
The availability of mobile technology for officers and staff to use whilst on patrol is an equally discouraging picture. Many forces are operating with old technology, ill-suited to modern crime fighting. The current situation in relation to the development and the use of ICT in the police service is unsatisfactory. The police service, together with the Home Office, the College of Policing and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners must work together to remedy this as a priority.
Recommendations
HMIC will continue to inspect these areas of policing core business and has made a total of 40 recommendations. A copy of the full report can be found at www.hmic.gov.uk.
What ACPO say
At the Association of Chief Police Officers, President of ACPO, Sir Hugh Orde, said: “It must always be remembered that, in England and Wales, we have 43 operationally independent forces, whose chief constables are responsible for enacting Police and Crime Plans by elected Police and Crime Commissioners. They will naturally tailor their approach to the needs of the communities they serve.
“Successive sets of figures show that the police across the country are doing a good job in terms of reducing crime and anti-social behaviour and overall confidence in the service has remained steadily high, despite the impact of policing cuts. We are pleased that, in the body of their report, HMIC highlights many examples of good practice through the case studies included.
“While it may appear ideal for all forces to run their operations in a uniform manner, and while everyone hopes that the police service maintains high national standards, under the current 43-force model, variations of approach are natural and unsurprising. Nevertheless, we acknowledge that the report highlights some areas in which a standardised approach is desirable.
“We accept that the public has a natural expectation to have a positive and supportive experience of interacting with the police service when they have been a victim of crime. The reality of austerity in policing means that forces must ensure that their officers’ time is put to best use and this means prioritising calls. In some instances, this may mean that a report of a crime where the victim is not in imminent danger or the offender is not still in the immediate vicinity will be dealt with over the phone or by other means than the deployment of an officer to the scene. This is not an abdication of forces’ duty of care to victims.
“Nevertheless, we acknowledge HMIC’s observations on the service not understanding the complete level of attendance and, while we note their recommendations on changing forces’ processes to ensure information is logged on two systems, we need to be careful that forces do not duplicate effort. That said, we are pleased that the report acknowledges the work that forces are doing with the College of Policing to understand and reduce demand, especially through preventative measures.”
Victim Support view
Adam Pemberton, Assistant Chief Executive of Victim Support, said: “As a charity that has supported millions of crime victims, we know how important it is that they get the help they need from the police. It is critical they can trust officers to investigate their case thoroughly and keep them informed of progress and the outcome.
“It is totally unacceptable for victims to have to investigate their own case as it could put them at risk of further harm and they may miss vital evidence which could allow offenders to evade justice.
“We know from supporting children and young people, victims of domestic and sexual violence and those with mental health problems how devastating crime can be for their well-being and sense of security. They are also some of the people most likely to suffer repeated crimes.
“These are not the standards we should expect from the police and improvements must be made. We will make sure crime victims and witnesses get the support they need and the respect they deserve.
Visit www.victimsupport.org.uk.
