Yahoo News Nearly half of crimes in the UK are closed before a suspect is even identified
Just under 7,000 crimes a day are effectively written off by British police forces, denying victims the service they are entitled to.
Almost one in two reported crimes (6960 from an average of 14500 daily or 48%) were closed last year before a suspect was identified.
That’s according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) 2018 ‘Police Effectiveness report‘.
The study detailed concerns about ‘the extent to which some forces are using all the powers, tactics and techniques they have available.’
It suggested the service is experiencing ‘significant stress’ in some aspects of policing due to the number of calls and the amount of response officers sent to incidents.
It also highlighted the delays some victims face after making an emergency call as forces are unable to dispatch officers quickly.
Inspectors found ‘thousands’ of instances where 999 calls that were graded as needing a ‘prompt’ response – meaning they require action within 60 minutes – were left unattended.
Some were left for several hours or even days.
In Cambridgeshire, inspectors found the average time it took for police to respond to a 999 call during September 2017 was 15 hours.
The watchdog concluded that around a quarter of forces in England and Wales are ‘all too often overwhelmed by the demand they face’.
In two forces there were ‘considerable delays’ in allocating calls for assistance, while in one area between 20% and 50% of incidents to which a unit should have been sent within 24 hours did not meet the target, according to the report.
HM Inspector Zoe Billingham said: ‘About a quarter of forces are all too often overwhelmed by the demand they face, resulting in worrying backlogs of emergency jobs.
‘We can see people waiting a long, long time for that 999 response and our concern here, in particular, is where there are vulnerable victims in that backlog.’
Inspectors said ‘life and limb’ and ‘crime in action’ cases were generally dealt with quickly.
Sara Thornton, chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: ‘HMICFRS finds good service overall and improvements since last year’s inspection, but it is also evident that increases in demand are impacting on forces’ ability to meet standards in some important areas.
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‘In the last year, policing has been under real strain with rising crime and demand that is more complex, an unprecedented terror threat, and officer numbers at 1985 levels.
‘We talked last September about how the response to terror attacks had led to backlogs of incidents and a slower response to the public.’
Labour MP Yvette Cooper, chairwoman of the Commons Home Affairs Committee, said: ‘This report shows a deeply serious strain on our emergency service.
‘For 999 emergencies to go without a response for hours or even days is shocking, and deeply distressing for victims and undermines public safety and the fight against crime.’
