Police are ‘overwhelmed’ by hidden crimes, warns chief

POLICE are being overwhelmed by “hidden crimes” relating to domestic abuse, child abuse and mental ill health that now account for 40 per cent of all offences, a police chief has warned.

Simon Bailey, the National Police Chief ’s Council (NPCC) spokesman on child protection, said people were now 10 times more likely to be victims of domestic abuse and child abuse than burglaries or vehicle theft, based on a snapshot of a single day on his force.

Mr Bailey, who is the chief constable for Norfolk Constabulary, said police would always be the “first responder” to domestic violence emergencies or mental health issues where life was at risk but there were incidents of non-emergency abuse or mental breakdowns where it was more appropriate for other agencies to take responsibility.

“The service’s mission has continued to expand and we have to question how much further it can expand. There are other agencies that have a role and responsibility in dealing with this,” he said. “There has to be a different approach. As far as mental health is concerned, it’s not the police’s responsibility to deal with this.”

On domestic abuse, he cited incidents where the police were not the best organisation to deal with cases such as “insults being traded on social media, incidents where there is no threat to the victim because the [verbal abuser] is not in the country”.

To illustrate, he revealed that on an average day his force in Norfolk saw 182 crimes of which one-third involved either domestic abuse (31 cases) or child sexual abuse and exploitation (31 cases). By contrast, “traditional” crimes were declining with just six burglaries a day, six theft of or from a vehicle and 12 shoplifting offences.

“The demand for front-line staff now is all around hidden harms, the exploitation of vulnerable people and crimes of abuse and exploitation,” he said.