Revealed: new ‘crime index’ used by police says burglary is twice as bad as child abduction

Force now targets speeding drivers over thieves... and public disorder

ONE force is now targeting speeding motorists ahead of thieves because chiefs believe that car crashes are a major source of harm.

Leicestershire Police is one of the first forces to change the way it operates after studying the Crime Harm Index.

Bosses say it allows them to devote more resources to the offences that affect residents the most, and also to better identify the most dangerous local crooks.

Chief Constable Simon Cole has identified road traffic accidents as a ‘high harm’ category, even though they may not always be classed as crimes or lead to anyone being jailed.

The force now carries out more operations that ‘target drivers not wearing seatbelts, using mobiles, speeding and drink/ drug driving’, known to be risk factors for crashes.

This new focus on ‘high harm’ offences inevitably means that others will be treated as less important. At a public meeting recently, concerns were raised that the type of persistent bad behaviour by groups of yobs would be overlooked in future.

A record states: ‘It was noted that anti-social behaviour was a type of offence where if the harm index was strictly followed then it would not be prioritised. Nevertheless, it was still intended to allocate resources to tackle anti-social behaviour.’

Leicestershire Police said: ‘We take all reports of crime seriously. The harm index has helped us focus on the types of crime that cause the public harm.’