UK police tell victims told investigate crime themselves

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BBC News UK

Policing report: Victims 'asked to investigate crime themselves'

Victims of crime are being "encouraged" to investigate offences themselves, an inspection of police forces in England and Wales has found.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary said criminal damage and car crime were "on the verge of being decriminalised" because forces had "almost given up".

In some cases victims were asked to check for CCTV or fingerprints.

The Association of Chief Police Officers said austerity meant forces had to set priorities.

'Material concern'

The review also found that police community support officers were being used as "detectives" in some forces.

The inspector who led the review, Roger Baker, said: "It's more a mindset, that we no longer deal with these things. And effectively what's happened is a number of crimes are on the verge of being decriminalised."

He added: "So it's not the fault of the individual staff; it's a mindset thing that's crept in to policing to say 'We've almost given up'."

This is a devastating report for the police because it appears to confirm what many of us have experienced over the years - that there are some crimes police simply don't attempt to investigate.

The report's authors aren't saying officers should be sent to every report of a stolen car stereo or broken window (though six forces do). They accept some cases take priority and others don't require police to attend.

But they're deeply concerned about a drift towards ignoring vast categories of offences which, if tackled, could lead to the identification of the perpetrators, with money and time saved later on.

The use of police community support officers as detectives and the encouragement of householders to do their own CID work, as a substitute for proper investigation, might lead some to conclude that this is all about budget cuts.

But those who compiled the review say these trends set in some years before that.

Victims of high-volume offences such as vehicle crime and "burglaries of properties other than dwellings" were asked questions by call-handlers to assess the likelihood of the crime being solved, inspectors found.

HMIC said that in some forces, if they did not know the answers to those questions, they were "asked to speak to neighbours, check for CCTV or view second-hand sales websites to see if their stolen property is being advertised for sale".

Prioritising calls

The watchdog added: "HMIC finds this expectation by these forces that the victim should investigate his own crime both surprising and a matter of material concern.

"The police have been given powers and resources to investigate crime by the public, and there should be no expectation on the part of the police that an inversion of that responsibility is acceptable."

The report also found:

People received a different response from the police for the same kind of incident, depending on where they lived
Attendance rates at crime scenes varied from 39% in Warwickshire to 100% in Cleveland
About a third of forces were failing to identify vulnerable and repeat victims
There was "inadequate" use of technology by the police
Some forces were losing track of named suspects because they did not have effective systems in place

HMIC made 40 recommendations for forces to improve their performance.

Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: "The reality of austerity in policing means that forces must ensure that their officers' time is put to best use and this means prioritising calls."

In some cases this meant a victim who was not in danger would be dealt with over the phone, he said, adding that this was "not an abdication of forces' duty of care to victims."

"The simple fact than an officer doesn't turn up does not mean the offence has not been taken seriously," said Sir Hugh.

The Chief Inspector of Constabulary, Tom Winsor, said a cut in police spending was no excuse for failing to investigate crime.

"This isn't a question of austerity, principally," he said.

"Over the last 10 years we've seen a 38% drop in crime, 10% since 2010.

"The nature of crime is changing, there's much more cyber crime, online fraud, things of that kind.

"But the public have a right to have their crimes investigated - and indeed some forces do turn up to 100% of crimes.

"Even the Metropolitan Police, the largest force in the country - they will come to all crimes if the public want them to do so."

The president of the Police Superintendents' Association of England and Wales, Chief Superintendent Irene Curtis, said the report made for "uncomfortable reading".

"Forces have made significant efforts to save money and have continued to reduce crime as well as doing their best to protect the front line," she said.

"But the report indicates that while this has been going on, some of the basic functions of policing appear to be slipping through the cracks in some areas."

Professor Craig Jackson, an expert in criminal psychology at Birmingham City University, said failing to investigate less serious crimes could cause problems.

"Many sex offenders and stalkers start out with minor crimes and low-level nuisance behaviour, such as trespass and damage of a victim's property," he said.

"An early opportunity to link serial crimes like this, and to therefore then prevent more serious offences being committed later, could be missed."

Shadow policing minister Jack Dromey said the public would be "extremely alarmed" by the HMIC review.

He said: "This a damning indictment of this government's claims to be cutting crime. In fact, what is being cut are the number of crimes investigated."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-29053978

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BBC News Magazine Monitor

Five tips for solving your own crimes

Overburdened police are encouraging crime victims to investigate their own cases, an inspection in England and Wales has found. How might one safely go about this, asks Chris Stokel-Walker.

1. Keep your own CCTV as evidence

There are nearly five million CCTV cameras in the UK, according to latest estimates from the British Security Industry Authority (BSIA), but some areas aren't covered by a lens. Simple home security systems, including cameras, can be bought from sites like Amazon, and can capture crimes as they happen. The video produced by the most basic cameras is perfectly acceptable as evidence, says Keith Cottenden of CY4OR, a forensics firm, but be aware that privacy issues can apply. Filming your own property is fine - filming a neighbour's is not.

2. Take statements from neighbours

Iain Stanton, a lecturer in policing and criminal justice studies at the University of Cumbria, says that though statements from witnesses to crimes could be admissible in a court, "a number of questions would potentially be raised in respect of comments or explanations given to people with no investigatory experience". But asking simple factual questions like "tell me what happened", "explain to me what you saw", and "can you describe that in more detail?" are useful starting points.

3. Invoke the wisdom of the crowd

Though it can backfire spectacularly - such as when users of Reddit, a popular message board, incorrectly identified bystanders as responsible for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings by trawling through CCTV images - there is some wisdom in the crowd. Posting as much information as possible about the crime online can jog people's memories, and spread awareness far and wide. And many goods taken in burglaries end up on websites such as Craigslist and Gumtree, so also keep an eye out online.

4. Use the technology available to you

Smartphones remain attractive to thieves. A quarter of us have had our phones stolen from us, according to security company Lookout - but they can be tracked. Make sure you have Find my iPhone, or one of the many rival apps, installed and enabled on your phone. Following an e-trail of your phone's whereabouts can help police locate it quicker.

5. Don't pursue the criminals yourself

Perhaps the most important piece of advice is a simple one - by all means collect and collate evidence, but don't try and confront the criminals responsible yourself. That much can still be left to the police.

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