Investigate crimes? Not if it means looking at CCTV

THE country’s biggest police force will not investigate crimes if officers would have to spend more than 20 minutes looking at CCtV under new rules.

the Metropolitan Police has brought in guidance for officers telling them to drop lower-level crimes if there is no CCtV available or if officers have to trawl through extended footage to catch the culprit.

the rules were brought in after Deputy assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons announced last year that the force had to prioritise resources and ‘balance the books with fewer officers and less money.’

the Met’s new crime assessment policy, which was introduced in September and has now been obtained under freedom of information laws, says officers must go through a series of steps to determine whether reports should be investigated. it lists more than 25 types of crime that must be followed up, such as homicide, but others including minor assault, vandalism and fraud may be ‘assessed out’ and dropped.

Officers can drop cases if the victim does not want to support a police prosecution, if no CCtV footage exists, or if the amount stolen or damaged is too low. the guidance adds: ‘Where… an extended period of CCtV which requires viewing is longer than 20 minutes, the crime must be assessed “out”.’ the release of the policy comes after nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy tipping last month said his force may stop investigating shoplifting as it tries to make savings of £16million.

a spokesman for the Met said the guidance is designed to strike a balance between the resources an investigation would require and the likely outcome. they added: ‘it is not a “blanket” policy that will mean that some crime types will not be investigated.’