Special

Kent Police failed to record 24,300 crimes last year.

The shocking figure, which was revealed in a Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) report, means 16% of all offences weren’t logged and 20% of violent crimes.

Four hundred sexual assaults and 10 rapes were not recorded and domestic abuse also slipped through the net.

While the force always offered support to vulnerable victims, 13 offences relating to them had not been logged, including three cases of sexual activity with a child.

Under nationwide policy every report of an incident which on the balance of probabilities was the result of criminal activity should be recorded. The force logged almost 125,000 in that period.

The HMIC said the force was failing victims of crime and rated it as inadequate, ordering it to urgently implement