Sex and violence offences among those pinpointed
WEST Midlands Police is “failing victims of crime” by not recording thousands of alleged offences including rape and domestic violence, according to a highly critical report from the policing watchdog.
The police inspectorate warned victims could be at more risk of harm because of shortcomings at the force, which it rated as “inadequate” on crime recording.
An assessment by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found that 83.8 per cent of reported offences were recorded by the force.
The watchdog estimates that the force is not recording at least 38,800 reports of crime each year. The 16.2 per cent of reported crimes that go unrecorded included sexual offences, domestic abuse and rape, according to the report.
It highlighted the recording rate for violent crime, which was 77.9 per cent, as a particular cause of concern, adding: “This means that on too many occasions, the force is failing victims of crime.”
The report said: “There are too many failures to make the cor- rect crime-recording decision at the first opportunity.
“Not all staff and officers have a good understanding of crimerecording requirements, and limited supervision means poor crime-recording decisions are not corrected at the earliest opportunity.”
HM Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: “I am very disappointed with the result of our recent inspection into how West Midlands Police records crime.
“We estimate that the force fails to record over 38,800 crimes every year. This is not just low-level crime – it includes sexual offences and violent crime.
“Not only does this mean the force cannot fully understand the demand it faces to plan accordingly, but it also means that victims could potentially be at more risk of harm, without the required support.”
She said the force needed to improve how it manages domestic abuse cases, saying the inspectorate found a large number of cases where safeguarding requirements for victims had not been considered or recorded, and for which no investigation had been carried out. HMICFRS noted improvements in West Midlands Police’s processes since 2014 but rated the force as ‘inadequate’ for effectiveness at recording reported crime. The findings are the latest issued under a series of rolling inspections looking at the crime data “integrity” of every police force in England and Wales. The programme was announced in November 2015 after they found the national average of under-recording of crimes stood at an “inexcusably poor” 19 per cent. West Midlands Deputy Chief Constable Louisa Rolfe said: “While we broadly accept the data underpinning the report, it is certainly not accurate to claim 38,000 crimes have occurred and not been recorded.
“A significant number of these incidents were recorded on our systems but just not classified correctly.”
She said the force takes the concerns about safeguarding “very seriously”, adding: “It is important to understand the context : in many of these cases the missed crime was found when inspectors trawled through case histories and would not have affected an ongoing prosecution or safeguarding.
“Inspectors recognised we’ve already taken steps to address some of these deficiencies through the introduction of an Initial Investigation Team and that the team has a good understanding of crime-recording requirements.”
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson, said: “I want victims of crime to have confidence in reporting crimes to West Midlands Police.
“I have asked the force to make rapid improvements, ensuring that safeguarding is as robust as possible.
“I welcome the re-inspection in early 2018.”
I am very disappointed with the result of our recent inspection into how West Midlands Police records crime. HM Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams