Detective work ‘farmed out’ to rookie bobbies

BURGLARIeS, car thefts and common assaults are being probed by ‘inexperienced’ bobbies on the beat due to a severe shortage of detectives, a report warns today.

Up to a quarter of these highfrequency crimes are not being ‘effectively’ investigated and evidence is routinely overlooked.

The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) warned the cases are being handed to ‘under-qualified’ neighbourhood policing officers because there is a national shortage of detectives, with up to one in seven posts currently unfilled.

HMIC also raised concerns about the ‘phenomenon’ of screening out crimes, which is when forces decide to drop investigations based on an initial assessment.

Only last week Greater Manchester Police – one of the country’s largest forces – admitted 43 per cent of crimes were screened out due to a lack of officers.

The inspectorate also warned the public are ‘losing faith’ in the 101 non-emergency number and, ‘rather than waiting for an answer’, are dialling 999 instead.

Figures for 2018 show calls to the 101 number fell by 3 per cent while 999 calls increased by 5 per cent. The report, which looked at a snapshot of 2,608 crime files from 4 of 43 forces in england and Wales, found 25 per cent of theft offences and 24 per cent of common assaults did not have ‘effective’ investigations.

Many were probed by inexperienced neighbourhood policing or response officers who missed possible lines of inquiry or evidence, it said.

The findings come amid growing concerns about the state of policeffective

From the Mail, april 24 ing. A damning report by MPs in October last year warned police risk becoming ‘ irrelevant’ after the number of officers dropped by more than 20,000 since 2010.

Matt Parr, of the HMIC, said: ‘Volume crime – relatively low harm, relatively low risk – is often conducted by staff with much less training and weaker supervision.

‘Only about three- quarters of things like theft and common assaults had what we thought were investigations. That means about a quarter of victims of these crimes aren’t getting the service they expect.’

He added: ‘That’s in crimes investigated. Of those they chose to inspect, only about three-quarters are properly investigated.

‘In an ideal world it would be CID (Criminal Investigation Department, or detectives). It’s the bobby on the beat rather than the CID.

‘ One issue here is there is a national shortage of detectives, with 14 per cent [of roles] unfilled.

‘There’s a shortage of detectives to do routine detective work and very often it’s being farmed out to people who will do their best, but are not trained at the same level.’

Mr Parr added: ‘The phenomenon of screening out to manage demand is now commonplace. How deep it goes depends on the type of crime and the nature of the force.’

The HMIC’s report was based on inspections of forces including Greater Manchester, nottinghamshire, Durham and Wiltshire.

A Home Office spokesman said: ‘We welcome the findings of HMIC, which show these forces are generally performing well. We recognise new demands are putting pressure on the police. This is why we have provided a more than £1billion increase in police funding compared to last year.’

POLICE WHO GIVE UP ON HALF OF CRIMES