Which forces are best and worst at recording crime?
All 43 police forces in England and Wales have been inspected to see if they are recording crime correctly. Many of them can hold their heads high, others have less to crow about.
Across the country, HM Inspectorate of Constabulary found that one in five of alll crimes reported to the police from November 2012 to October 2013 was not recorded by officers – a finding it described as “indefensible” and “inexcusably poor”.
For sexual offences, the picture was worse: a quarter of these crimes were unrecorded, including 37 rapes.
Failing to record a crime as a crime has serious consequences because it means it is unlikely to be investigated, with offenders unpunished and victims let down.
Exemplary and bad
The picture varies across police forces. “Some forces have exemplary records in this respect, and some others are very bad,” according to Chief Inspector of Constabulary Tom Winsor.
HMIC looked in detail at the number of crimes that should have been recorded and the number that were recorded in all 43 police forces.
Channel 4 News has turned the figures into percentages and worked out who is top and bottom of the class.
800,000 crimes 'unrecorded every year'. Read Simon Israel's blog
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Praising West Midlands Police, HMIC said the force had “retained an effective audit and compliance capability, despite austerity cuts”, adding: “Chief officers in West Midlands Police are aware of the impact unethical crime recording can have on public confidence. They promote ethical working practices and integrity in all areas of business, not just crime recording. “
West Midlands Police Chief Constable Chris Sims said: “The integrity of police crime recording is vital for both public reassurance and the sound management and deployment of police resources.
“I’m delighted the force has been recognised by HMIC as setting the standard for accurate crime recording. We are focused on the victims of crime and getting the best outcomes for them…not on what looks best on data spread-sheets.”
Unacceptable weaknesses
In contrast, HMIC said its inspection of crime recording at Hampshire Constabulary had “revealed some unacceptable weaknesses”.
It added: “Most crimes should have been recorded as crimes at the time the referrals were first received. This is a matter that should be rectified by the force urgently.”
One of HMIC’s main concerns was the non-recording of sexual crimes: “..of 28 rapes recorded as no-crime, we found that 18 should have remained classified as crimes. This is unacceptable given the risk associated with this type of crime and is therefore a matter of urgent and material concern.”
But the inspectorate said Hampshire had taken its findings “extremely seriously and has initiated action designed to improve the quality and accuracy of crime recording”.
In response, Hampshire Constabulary said it had overhauled its crime recording.
Detective Superintendent Rachel Farrell said: “For almost a year we have been working with our staff and officers to change the process of how we record crime. This has been necessary as we cut back office staff in order to keep as many officers as possible on the frontline.
“The HMIC audit has been timely. It comes part way through our change and highlights specific areas where we need to improve. We welcome the positive comments about our strong victim focus. It is also reassuring that our plans are judged to be comprehensive, and that there is no evidence in Hampshire Constabulary of institutionalised performance pressure not to record crime correctly.”