Force or Farce? - Police Recorded Crime 2009

Accurate and trusted crime recording and statistics are essential, not only to underpin the legitimacy of policing, but also to enable the effective allocation of resources. Unnecessary bureaucracy is caused when systems for recording crime become inefficient or worse, manipulated for personal or political reasons. The recording of crime should not receive more attention than the subsequent investigation. Trusted and accurate crime statistics are a key component of building confidence in policing and the Criminal Justice System.
 
In this paper, the crime analysis team at Nice 1 Ltd, will highlight an area that causes anxiety among front
line police officers - the crime recording process. Having collated numerous operational examples of how forces are encouraged to minimize incident numbers reported, we set about identifying the areas where there is greatest potential for manipulation. To read the latest report click here. Alternatively click the Force or Farce link in the sidebar to the "View Our Reports".

In a previous report “Home Office Crime Statistics – Decreasing Crime By Fair Means Or Foul”, we dealt with the disparity that exists in the incident numbers between the British Crime Survey and police recorded crime. In that report, we commented that crime statistics could not be considered accurate or trusted, but were rather “a pernicious conspiracy to deceive” with the Government being ultimately responsible for a sham two tier crime measurement system. In creating a performance target driven Criminal Justice System, a tangled web of bureaucratic systems have been implemented within the police service, disguising the true picture of crime and defeating the ends of justice the system is meant to serve.

By targeting senior police officers to reduce crime and increase detections with lucrative monetary rewards, (senior officers receive 15% bonus on top of six figure salaries for hitting crime reduction targets), the Government is assisted in its plot by willing co-conspirators. Senior officers looking to progress further are encouraged to devise systems and procedures that perpetuate the illusion of reducing crime.

This report takes the enquiry further, by exploring the flaws that exist within the police recorded crime process. Both reports can be viewed in the View Our Reports sidebar.

NEWS UPDATE - SUNDAY 5TH DECEMBER 09

Supporting the evidence we have presented in this and prior postings, an article appears in the Telegraph today that will blow the lid off the police force tricks to fiddle crime figures. 

Read the article here  or paste this link into your browser http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/6736505/Police-force-tricks-to-fiddle-crime-figures.html

We will report on this further shortly.

Comments or observations are welcome to enquiries@nice-1.co.uk

Crime Analysis Team
Nice 1 Ltd

PROTECTING THE PUBLIC:Supporting The Police to Succeed : Home Office White Paper December 2009

LABOUR TO CUT POLICE OVERTIME BY 20% AND SLASH BACK OFFICE SUPPORT

A long-awaited Home Office document, meant to dramatically reform the police service and slash red tape, outlines moves to dramatically cut police overtime, once again putting the Government on a crash course with front line police officers.

The paper also proposes standard police uniforms, body armour and beat cars in England and Wales.

Last year forces in England and Wales spent around £400 million on overtime. The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson will slash resources for police work at a time when the public are demanding officers spend more time on the streets. However, he also proposes huge reductions in back room staff, who are supposed to help free up officer time.

The White Paper — Protecting the Public: Supporting the Police to Succeed — sets out the Government plan to save £70 million on police overtime and £75 million by making huge cuts in back office support services over the next six months.  

The draft, released today, is available for download by clicking here, or the link in the Reference and Resource side bar. A quote from the draft states  “We will deliver better value for money for the public and achieve more frontline delivery through improving business processes, reducing bureaucracy and better deployment, at the same time saving money by reducing overtime.”

The document contains plans and long-term policies they plan to introduce, including police officers in England and Wales being required to wear the same uniform if Labour are re elected. A separate distinctive national uniform is also to be introduced in the next parliament for police community support officers.

Chris Grayling, the shadow Home Secretary, said: "This is quite clearly a real damp squib of a White Paper. There is a lack of any new real ideas and we get a clear sense that we have now is a Labour Government which has run out of steam and has no idea how to reform policing in the UK."

Only sergeants and constables are paid overtime, officers working at the front line of our society. Front end policing is where the financial support should be focused and overtime is a vital part of delivering the policing the public wants and needs. Senior Officers should have the freedom and discretion to allocate overtime according to policing priorities.

"Supporting The Police to Succeed" hardly seems appropriate when accompanied by proposals that might just push police morale over the edge.