Police failed to record more than 21,000 crimes in a year, including rapes, domestic violence and serious assaults.
The scale of unrecorded offences approximately one in four of the crimes reported to the force was revealed in a report issued by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue services.
Vast improvement’ needed to how Leicestershire Police records crime
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today published an assessment on the accuracy of crime recording in Leicestershire Police, which found that the force records around 76 percent of crimes reported to it.
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HMICFRS previously inspected the accuracy of crime recording in Leicestershire Police in 2014.
To assess the extent that recorded crime information in Leicestershire Police can be trusted, HMICFRS asked:
- How effective is the force at recording reported crime?
- How efficiently do the systems and processes in the force support accurate crime recording?
- How well does the force demonstrate the leadership and culture necessary to meet the national standards for crime recording?
Based on these criteria, overall HMICFRS has judged Leicestershire Police as ‘inadequate’.
HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoe Billingham said:
“It is of very great concern to me that Leicestershire Police is failing to record almost 1 in 4 crimes reported to it. We estimate that the force fails to record 21,200 reported crimes each year, including reports from victims of crimes of a sexual nature, and of violence. Although safeguarding measures were in place for many of the victims of crimes, there was little evidence of investigations being undertaken where the crime had not made it onto the books. This is particularly true for cases of domestic abuse.“I am especially disappointed to find that a third of reported violent crimes are not properly recorded. This is of serious concern as it can prevent victims receiving the support they need and deserve, and prevent offenders being brought to justice. The extent to which crimes reported directly to the force public protection teams are not being recorded is also of serious concern. The force needs to take immediate action to improve its recording of these crimes.“The importance of correctly recording crime cannot be overlooked, or simply passed off as a bureaucratic measure: if a force does not correctly record crime it cannot properly understand the demand on its services, nor provide support to those who need it most. Vast improvement is needed in Leicestershire Police.“We have made a number of recommendations to help the force improve. I am encouraged by the fact that the force has immediately taken steps to address our concerns. I will carry out a re-inspection in 2018 to assess the force’s progress.”
