Police abandon third of probes after single call

BRITAIN’S biggest police force is rocking confidence in the criminal justice system by abandoning a third of investigations after just one phone call, campaigners warned last night.

The Metropolitan Police shelves thousands of burglary, assault, theft and criminal damage probes every year without sending an officer.

Police chiefs blame shrinking budgets and say they must prioritise catching violent thugs and gangsters on the capital’s streets.

Harry Fletcher, of the Victims’ Rights Campaign, said: “This is clearly a form of rationing.

“It hardly inspires confidence in the criminal justice system and it shows the urgent need for a Victim’s Law so individuals can challenge police decisions not to proceed.”

Undermine

Alex Mayes, of independent charity Victim Support, said: “News like this could undermine confidence in the criminal justice system and prevent people reporting in the future.”

The Met’s Telephone and Digital Investigation Unit (TDIU), launched last April, dealt with 37 per cent of crimes reported between then and December 2017, according to a Freedom of Information request.

Between January and October this year, the unit dealt with 39 per cent of 200,000-plus crimes reported. Of these, 79 per cent were “assessed out” through lack of CCTV or forensic evidence.

Dropped reports make up 29.6 per cent of all crimes reported.

Simon Kempton, of the Police Federation, said: “We did not join to decide which victims of crime would be lucky enough to see a police officer. We joined to help people.”

Met Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons said: “This

may cause concern and perhaps lead to fears fewer offences will be prosecuted, but I must stress that detection rates for crimes being investigated by the TDIU have not fallen. We have had to realign our resources and invest more in different areas to meet the challenges we are facing.”