POLICING REPORT: VICTIMS ASKED TO INVESTIGATE CRIME THEMSELVES Victims of crime are being encouraged to investigate offences themselves, an inspection of police forces in England and Wales has found.HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said criminal damage and car crime were on the verge of being decriminalised because forces had almost given up. In some cases victims were asked to check for CCTV or fingerprints.The Association of Chief Police Officers said austerity meant forces had to set priorities. Material concern The review also found that police community support officers were being used as detectives in some forces. The inspector who led the review, Roger Baker, said: Its more a mindset, that we no longer deal with these things. And effectively whats happened is a number of crimes are on the verge of being decriminalised. He added: So its not the fault of the individual staff; its a mindset thing thats crept in to policing to say Weve almost given up. Victims of high-volume offences such as vehicle crime and burglaries of properties other than dwellings were asked questions by call-handlers to assess the likelihood of the crime being solved, inspectors found. HMIC said that in some forces, if they did not know the answers to those questions, they were asked to speak to neighbours, check for CCTV or view second-hand sales websites to see if their stolen property is being advertised for sale. Prioritising calls The watchdog added: HMIC finds this expectation by these forces that the victim should investigate his own crime both surprising and a matter of material concern. The police have been given powers and resources to investigate crime by the public, and there should be no expectation on the part of the police that an inversion of that responsibility is acceptable. The report also found: • People received a different response from the police for the same kind of incident, depending on where they lived • Attendance rates at crime scenes varied from 39% in Warwickshire to 100% in Cleveland • About a third of forces were failing to identify vulnerable and repeat victims • There was inadequate use of technology by the police • Some forces were losing track of named suspects because they did not have effective systems in place HMIC made 40 recommendations for forces to improve their performance. Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: 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 cases this meant a victim who was not in danger would be dealt with over the phone, he said, adding that this was not an abdication of forces duty of care to victims. The simple fact than an officer doesnt turn up does not mean the offence has not been taken seriously, said Sir Hugh. The Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, said a cut in police spending was no excuse for failing to investigate crime. This isnt a question of austerity, principally, he said. Over the last 10 years weve seen a 38% drop in crime, 10% since 2010. The nature of crime is changing, theres much more cyber crime, online fraud, things of that kind. But the public have a right to have their crimes investigated - and indeed some forces do turn up to 100% of crimes. Even the Metropolitan Police, the largest force in the country - they will come to all crimes if the public want them to do so. The president of the Police Superintendents Association of England and Wales, Chief Superintendent Irene Curtis, said the report made for uncomfortable reading. Forces have made significant efforts to save money and have continued to reduce crime as well as doing their best to protect the front line, she said. But the report indicates that while this has been going on, some of the basic functions of policing appear to be slipping through the cracks in some areas.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 10:44:46 +0000
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