POLICE in Oxfordshire have come under attack as a Government inspector said victims are being ignored in a bid to improve crime statistics.

It comes as a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said almost one in seven crimes reported to Thames Valley Police were not recorded when they should have been.

HMIC inspector for Thames Valley Zoe Billingham called for the force to change its crime recording system after an audit showed that 15 per cent of crimes were not followed up by TVP.

Out of 156 incidents reported to the police between December 2013 and August 2014, 139 crimes – including sexual offences – should have been recorded, but only 118 were. This means 21 crimes were ignored when they should not have been, with no investigation or further action.

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The report also said 10 per cent of serious recorded crimes – including rape, violence and robbery – were wrongly downgraded to ‘no-crimes’ in the last year.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Ms Billingham said: “A number of crimes in TVP are not getting the action and attention they need, meaning there’s no chance the offenders will be brought to justice.

“That’s not good enough. At the end of the day the victim focus of this is being missed and they need to change their process.

“There’s a culture of victim disbelief, particularly with sexual assault. We have said repeatedly that needs to go.”

She said that the force should change its recording system to mean that any call to the police is automatically recorded, rather than waiting for an officer to assess it.

“Members of the public expect that when they call and say they’ve been a victim of crime that it’s automatically recorded, and that’s what we’re saying should now happen.

“That should go on the system and, if it turns out that it was not a crime, it can be cancelled and removed later.”

A change in the recording system would mean that Oxfordshire’s crime rate would rise as incidents that would not count become official crimes – at least temporarily, she said.

Ms Billingham added: “The crime rate would increase significantly and that’s why forces are reluctant to do it.”

When asked about the increased workload for officers dealing with non-crimes, she said: “That’s what police are for.

“When the crime happens it’s their job to investigate it and look at what’s taken place.”

Divisional manager for Victim Support in Oxfordshire Linda Darrall agreed and said: “The sheer number of crimes that have been dismissed by the police is alarming.

“It’s equally astonishing that so many victims are not told if the police decide later that no crime took place.

“Victims of crime rely on the police to believe them and to investigate crime properly and should be able to trust them to do just that.”

Police spokeswoman Hannah Williams said that human error was to blame for the incorrect recordings, some of which had been changed.

The incorrect ‘no-crimes’ in the report were also reviewed and some have been changed.

She said: “In the handful of instances where crimes have not been recorded accurately, TVP has ensured that learning has been addressed and implemented and will continue to do so through additional briefings and training material.

“All reports of crimes are, and will continue to be, investigated.”

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Chief Constable Sara Thornton

Chief Constable Sara Thornton said: “While we recognise that there is still work to do, we are addressing areas for improvement. Overall, the report is positive as it shows the police recording of crime can be trusted in the Thames Valley.”

Kidlington sergeant Colin Travi said: “We have to take victims seriously, but we need to trust our officers.”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CALL 999?

  • INITIAL reports of crimes are marked as incident records, usually by call handlers who take calls from members of the public
  • These are then handed to officers who carry out initial meetings with the caller and decide if a crime has happened
  • If they decide there is no evidence to the contrary, then the crime is recorded, even if a victim does not want to press charges
  • If a crime is recorded, but police then discover there was no crime committed, it is demoted to a ‘no-crime’
     

  • Read the full report
    HMIC crime recording report Nov 14.pdf

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