Half of police not probing crime properly

Watchdog shames 22 of 43 forces as ‘inadequate’ or ‘requiring improvement’

MORE than half of police forces are failing to properly investigate crime, according to official watchdog reports.

Of the 43 forces in England and Wales, 22 were judged by inspectors to be “inadequate” or “requiring improvement” in investigating crime – the two worst performance ratings.

They face an investigation by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary next year into the failings that have caused the proportion of crimes solved to plummet to record lows.

It comes as new official Home Office figures, seen by the Daily Mail, reveal that police abandon investigations into four crimes every minute without tracking down the perpetrators.

Forces have missed leads that could have solved burglaries, thefts and assaults, and failed to arrive at crime scenes promptly to recover evidence or catch suspects, according to the reports.

The watchdog told The Daily Telegraph that many forces faced “real challenges in answering and dealing with emergency calls in a timely manner” and that an “unacceptably low” number of crimes was being solved.

“If the police are to rebuild public trust and confidence, it is vital that forces work quickly to rectify these issues and provide the high level of service that the public deserves,” said a spokesman for the inspectorate.

Home Office figures show that just one in 18 offences reported to police led to a suspect being charged in the year to this June, compared with one in six resulting in a charge a decade ago.

A Home Office source said ministers expected a “zero tolerance” approach to all crimes, with forces having agreed in September to follow up “every line of enquiry for all crimes – without exception”. The source said: “Since March, there have been record-ever numbers of police and over half a billion pounds extra invested. These extra resources must deliver a significant increase in the number of crimes solved.”

The figures have emerged from Telegraph analysis of the results of inspections of all 43 forces in 2021-22 across eight criteria. Forces are ranked on metrics including looking after their workforce, providing value for money and treating the public with respect, but when judged on investigating crime alone the ratings fall. Forces scored worse on these metrics than other criteria such as preventing crime, treating the public with fairness and respect, and value for money.

Not a single force was rated as “outstanding” in either investigating crime or responding to the public. Three forces were ranked inadequate for investigating crime, with 19 judged as “requiring improvement”. Eight were assessed as “inadequate” in responding to the public, and a further 17 found to be “requiring improvement”.

The performance of five forces – the Metropolitan Police, West Midlands, Devon and Cornwall, Staffordshire and Wiltshire – is of such concern that they are currently in special measures.

Humberside emerged as the best force in Britain across the eight criteria.

The six worst in 2021-22 were Wiltshire, Greater Manchester, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire, Cleveland and the Met, three of which are in special measures. Greater Manchester was taken out of special measures in 2022.

The National Police Chiefs’ Council said the inspections showed most were “performing well”. A spokesman said: “However, whenever a force falls short in a certain area, we will work with them... to ensure that the necessary improvements are made.”

A “BACK-TO-BASICS” approach to policing has helped Greater Manchester become the only force to lift itself off the bottom of the police performance table for investigating crime this year.

In the space of two and a half years, its chief constable Stephen Watson has taken the “failing” force that he inherited out of special measures and improved its ratings in two key metrics: investigating crime and responding to the public.

In 2021/22, Greater Manchester was ranked at the bottom overall, and judged inadequate – the lowest of five ratings – on both criteria, as assessed by Her Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary. When Mr Watson took over in summer 2021, he pledged to investigate every crime however “minor”, banned the practice of “screening out” weak cases, insisted officers attended every burglary scene and restored neighbourhood policing, or more colloquially, “bobbies on the beat”.

As a result, the number of offences resulting in a charge has jumped by 44 per cent, reversing a slump in solving cases that has fallen nationally to just one in 18, or 5.7 per cent.

Emergency 999 answer times have been reduced from one minute 22 seconds to seven seconds, putting the force among the best of the 43 in England and Wales for percentage answered within 10 seconds.

Manchester is the only one of nine forces so far to have improved its official inspection ratings for investigating crime and responding to the public in the latest round of inspections for the period 2023-25. Where before it was rated inadequate, it has jumped two grades to adequate in both categories. By contrast, five forces – Thames Valley, West Midlands, Surrey, Merseyside and Durham – have declined on investigating crime. Six – West Midlands, Surrey, Merseyside, Durham, Dyfed-powys and Suffolk – have been ranked worse on interaction with the public. Indeed, Manchester is cited by ministers as an exemplar of the “back to basics” approach that they want to reverse the slump in charging rates. With a record number of police officers after the 20,000-strong recruitment uplift and millions extra invested, they are clear the number of crimes solved must be “significantly increased.” A Home Office source said: “To help do this, we secured agreement from policing in September to always follow up every line of enquiry for all crimes – without exception. This approach recently led to a 44 per increase in charges in Greater Manchester.” The new approach has been reinforced by the data from force inspections which showed that more than half were failing to investigate crimes properly. For the inspectorate, it is down to a combination of problems that have been particularly acute in high-volume crimes such as burglary and theft, where there are some of the lowest detection rates.

According to inspectors, it starts from the point of a victim’s 999 call when they found call handlers failed to give advice on how to preserve evidence, meaning vital forensic material could be lost. Delays in getting to the scene within the so-called “golden hour” when evidence is fresh meant further leads could be lost.

Chronic shortages of detectives put newly recruited officers in the frontline with no experience in making arrests, building case files or attending court, according to inspectors. It was compounded by a lack of effective supervision by more experienced detectives.

In his annual report, Andy Cooke, Chief Inspector of Constabulary, said: “Too often, people offend with apparent impunity, and the police aren’t targeting them consistently.”