Number of crimes solved halves in four years, Home Office figures reveal

Police are solving half as many crimes as four years ago with under one in 13 offences leading to a prosecution, official figures reveal.

The number of offences resulting in a charge has fallen from 15.5 per cent in 2014/15 to a record low of 7.4 per cent in 2018/19, with rape charges dropping to just 1.4 per cent, according to Home Office data.

It came as it was revealed knife crime rose by seven per cent to a record high, helping to push overall offending in England and Wales to its highest level in 15 years. Robberies were up to a 12-year high, while firearms, rape, vehicle theft and fraud also increased.

Police and crime experts blamed the fall in charges on shortages of detectives, the increasing complexity of investigations and forces screening out high-volume offences unlikely to be solved at an earlier stage.

Lord Stevens, former Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said: “It’s because of the decimation of the detective force needed to investigate some of these offences, as well as the lack of neighbourhood policing.

“The other issue is the judicial system and ability to prosecute. It’s taking time to take these cases through court, and cover the discovery of documents. The whole criminal justice system has slowed down and is in trouble.”

Rick Muir, director of the Police Foundation, said: “Police forces are rationing their investigative resources. A lot of crimes that are too difficult to investigate or don’t score highly in terms of harm are not going to be prioritised. That’s offences like bicycle theft, shoplifting and car theft.”

Rape, a focus of controversy over evidence disclosure, saw the proportion of offences resulting in a charge fall from 8.5 per cent in 2014/15 to 2.4 per cent last year and now 1.4 per cent. This was despite a seven per cent increase in offences to 58,947 in the year ending June 2019.

The proportion of theft offences resulting in a charge has halved from 10.8 per cent in 2014/15 to 5.4 per cent, criminal damage is down from 8.3 per cent to 5.1 per cent and the number of violence against the person offences solved has fallen by two-thirds from 22 per cent to 7.8 per cent.

The proportion of robberies resulting in a charge has more than halved from 17.3 per cent to 7.1 per cent and public order offences are down from 31.4 per cent to 8.8 per cent.

Almost 60 per cent of knife or weapon possession offences resulted in a charge in 2014/15 but have fallen to 35 per cent in 2018/19.

One of the main reasons for the fall in the charging rate is because more victims do not support prosecution action, rising to 22.8 per cent now compared with 8.7 per cent four years ago.

It comes as overall crimes recorded by police in England and Wales in the year to June topped six million for the first time since 2004, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Knife crime rose seven per cent to 44,076, its highest since figures began in 2011. Bedfordshire saw a rise of 57 per cent to 688 offences, followed by Suffolk (46 per cent), Dyfed-Powys (45 per cent), City of London (43 per cent), North Yorkshire (41 per cent) and Greater Manchester (35 per cent).

The figures came as the National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed a week-long blitz on county lines gangs had led to 700 arrests, the seizure of £426,000 of drugs and capture of 169 weapons including 12 guns and swords, machetes, an axe, knives, samurai swords, and a crossbow.

While the overall murder rate fell by five per cent from 719 to 681, there was, however, a four per cent rise in firearms offences to 6,734, driven by weapons such as stun guns, CS gas and pepper spray.

There was also an 11 per cent rise in robbery in the last year to 88,177 offences following consistent rises since 2015. Robbery has increased by 76 per cent in four years with 41 per cent of offences recorded in London.

Kit Malthouse, the policing minister, said: “I am deeply concerned at the rise in certain crimes, particularly knife crime. All of us involved from the police to local and national government, must confront this challenge head on.

“With 20,000 more police officers in the pipeline and urgent action on a number of fronts, not least drug dealing county lines, we are making progress. But there is a lot more to do and we have to get smarter and more focused.

“It’s also vital that we divert young people away from committing crime in the first place, which is why we are investing over £220 million into early intervention projects and placing a duty on public bodies to work together to tackle youth violence. Only by working together can we win this fight.”

Richard Atkins QC, Chair of the Bar Council, said: “The apparent steep decline in the charging of offences is another serious concern for our criminal justice system, particularly if it is down to the fact that many victims do not support prosecution.

“The Home Office must investigate why this is happening. Those who commit criminal offences should be prosecuted and victims of crime need to have faith that their cases will be heard swiftly.

“The long delays in getting cases put before a court may be one reason and the Bar Council has urged the government to open the many criminal court rooms currently sitting idle to help cut the backlog.”

Andy Cooke, National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for crime, said: “Any rise in knife crime is incredibly serious and tackling this issue is a priority for police across the country.

“I am also concerned by increases in other offences, and that too few crimes are being solved and brought to court for justice to be done. This is a symptom of the strain on policing as we try to manage growing crime and demand that is ever more complex.

“We continue to work with the Home Office in putting the case forward for a stronger policing system that’s properly funded so we can improve outcomes and build public confidence.”

John Apter, chair of the Police Federation, said: “We welcome the Government’s plans to uplift the service with an extra 20,000 officers as it offers a much-needed lifeline and will give policing the capability to begin to drive crime down; including the scourge in knife crime which shows no signs of slowing and is blighting the lives of so many families.

“But let me be clear, the benefits won’t be felt for some time. It will of course take years for the effects of the recruitment drive to be fully felt and the public must understand this. Until then, my colleagues will do the very best they can to protect the communities they serve”, he said.