Victims left to pursue own crimes as police investigate by phone

VULNERABLE victims are being left to pursue their own crimes as cash-strapped forces increasingly conduct investigations by telephone, it has been claimed.

With officer numbers cut across the country and budgets shrinking annually, many police chiefs are now turning to telephone-based crime management units to tackle offences.

Call handlers assess what evidence might be available before deciding whether to send a detective to the scene.

But a report by the BBC’S Panorama programme has found such units are closing a huge number of cases without police involvement.

It is feared the shift to phone-based investigations could be responsible for a large drop in prosecutions, with around 65,000 fewer people charged each year.

Analysis of recent Home Office figures by the programme found that while reported burglaries had risen by five per cent, the number of charges over the same period had fallen 26 per cent.

Similarly, an 18 per cent surge in robbery had been matched by a 17 per cent drop in charges.

A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services warned that some phone investigation units were carrying out little more than administrative procedures to try to close an inquiry as quickly as possible. Inspectors criticised the way some victims were asked to collect their own evidence or preserve a crime scene.

Zoe Billingham, HM Inspector of Constabulary, said there was “a very real risk” the force could be pushing back on to vulnerable victims the duty of investigating their own crime. She added: “Really significant cracks are appearing in the system.”

Panorama: Police under Pressure, tonight, 9pm, BBC One