Lancashire force rated ‘inadequate’ on crime reports

LANCASHIRE Police has been rated as ‘inadequate’ and accused of failing crime victims in a damning report.

The force was underreporting too many crimes, including violence, rape and domestic abuse, said HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS.

In total, more than 15% of crimes reported to the force between October 2016 and March 2017 went unrecorded, while the figure for violent crime was even higher at 21%. Based on this time period, it is estimated that more than 20,000 reported crimes were not recorded across a full year.

According to the inspectorate, “this means that, on too many occasions, the constabulary is failing victims of crime”.

Although the force was praised for carrying out improvements since an inspection in 2014, notably for safeguarding the needs of victims of sexual offences, its perfomance was still labelled as ‘unacceptable’.

The inspection found officers and staff too often failed to make correct crimerecording decisions at the first opportunity, attributed to “insufficient understanding” among officers and staff.

It also said the constabulary is failing to ensure it properly records all reports of rape, other sexual offences and violence, including domestic abuse crimes and crimes reported directly to its public protection department.

Overall, the force was rated as ‘indequate’ for crime reporting, the lowest of four possible gradings and HMICFRS will carry out another inspection in 2018.

Lancashire Police said that it was already acting on the report’s findings.

A spokesman said: “We acknowledge the findings and we are already acting upon the recommendations to ensure that crimes are properly recorded, investigated and victims of crime are at the heart of everything we do. This is vital to ensure we continue to have the public’s trust and confidence.”