Police force ‘failing to record abuse and violence’
DYFEDPOWYS Police is failing to record thousands of crimes each year, with violence and domestic abuse often going unrecorded, a damning report has found.
The force is recording only 87.6% of all reported crimes, meaning an estimated 4,400 crimes a year are not recorded, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The figure drops where violent crime is concerned. Here only 85.4% of offences are being recorded, some involving domestic abuse or vulnerable victims.
Her Majesty’s inspector of constabulary Wendy Williams said: “Anyone who reports a crime should feel safe in the knowledge that their local police force will record it. I am concerned that DyfedPowys Police has consistently failed to record so many crimes.
“I am particularly worried that victims of domestic abuse are being let down by Dyfed-Powys Police. Failing to record these crimes often results in vulnerable victims not being safeguarded properly and no investigation taking place.”
In 2018 HMICFRS found the force was too often failing to record reported crimes, and a follow-up inspection this year discovered that Dyfed-Powys Police “had failed to make the expected improvements, with crime-recording levels broadly unchanged,” a spokesman for the inspectorate said.
Ms Williams added: “We told Dyfed-Powys Police to make improvements in crime recording two and a half years ago, yet it has still not made any progress.”
The force has now been issued with a “cause of concern”, with a spokesman for the inspecorate adding: “This process can be accelerated when a police force’s failures raise
concerns about public safety – as is the case with Dyfed-Powys Police.
“HMICFRS will monitor Dyfed-Powys Police’s progress against its recommendations.”
With immediate effect HMICFRS has recommended Dyfed-Powys Police should improve its systems and processes for recording reported crimes, paying particular attention to domestic abuse, and ensure adequate supervision of the crime-recording decisions made by police officers and staff.
Dyfed-Powys Police temporary chief constable Claire Parmenter said: “We accept the concerns and recommendations published by HMICFRS in respect of crime data integrity. As an organisation we are firmly committed to supporting victims and putting them at the heart of everything we do. The force has plans in place to improve its crime recording and I am determined we will get this right.”
She said improvements response to significant to their domestic
abuse victims had been made since the 2018 inspection. “[We have created] the vulnerability desk which provides realtime intelligence to officers attending incidents of domestic abuse and ensuring that safeguarding arrangements are in place through a new partnership hub.
“Recent audits in April evidenced we were achieving a 98% compliance for the completion of risk assessments. This ensures that every domestic abuse victim is looked after and kept safe.
“We have a programme of change already in place which will deliver significant process and cultural change.
“HMICFRS were unable to take this project into account as part of this inspection. Delivery plans commence next month.
“Since the date of this inspection we are already seeing improvements as a result of the swift additional action we have taken, achieving 100% crime recording compliance in respect of antisocial behaviour for February and March 2021.”