Police computer decides if burglaries should be probed
A POLICE force has defended using a computer programme to decide if burglaries should be investigated.
Norfolk Constabulary is testing a “solvability algorithm” which assesses evidence collected by detectives at the scene.
This provides a “recommendation on whether a case should be allocated for further enquiries”, the force said.
Critics insist the final decision should be made by a human and failure to take into account the emotional impact on the victim will risk a further loss of public confidence in the police.
The force said yesterday: “Every crime reported to us, including burglaries, is reviewed by a member of staff before any investigation decision is made.
“An algorithm, which has been developed by an academic working with the University of Cambridge, is however currently being tested to see whether it can assist with whether burglary investigations should be allocated for further enquiries.
“However, all cases including those in the trial, are still overseen by members of the Norfolk Investigation Management Unit and the recommendations made by the algorithm can and will be overriden if the member of staff feels there are further enquiries which need to be conducted.
“The results of the trial will be evaluated before any decision is made on future use.” Norfolk Constabulary has been using the software since January.
Its algorithm assesses 29 factors including the availability and quality of CCTV footage, forensic evidence like fingerprints or blood splatters and similarities with thousands of other burglaries in the county.
If the computer decides there are no leads, it will recommend the case be closed. But the force says detectives review each decision before a file is closed.
Harry Fletcher, of Voice 4 Victims, said: “It’s far better that an individual makes these decisions because they can take into account the impact on victims.
“If the victim is elderly or vulnerable the effect of a burglary will be immense. A failure to consider this will risk further losing public confidence.”
A Ukip spokesman called the approach “a gross insult” to victims of crime, adding: “The duty of the police is to serve and protect people and property.”
More than 4,000 burglaries were recorded in Norfolk in the past 12 months, while the burglary detection rate in England and Wales fell from six per cent in 2013 to three per cent.
According to official figures, almost 130,000 burglary investigations were closed without any suspect being identified – a rise of 35,000 since statistics were first collected in 2014.
In a separate study, inspectors from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found that over-stretched officers who were dispatched to burglaries missed crucial evidence in the socalled “golden hour” after the crime because they were late.
Labour’s shadow policing minister Louise Haigh said: “Burglary is one of the most invasive crimes you can fall victim to, and technology should not be stopping vulnerable victims receiving a police response.
“It’s an inescapable fact that the vast majority of crime is now not being investigated or prosecuted thanks to eight brutal years of cuts to the police and the criminal justice system.”