Ineffective police investigation processes are not always putting
the victim first, the police inspectorate has said, with forces
often focusing on quantity rather than quality when measuring
support for victims.
In a new report, ‘Crime investigations: An inspection into how
effectively the police investigate crime', His Majesty's
Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services
(HMICFRS) found police efforts are hampered by ineffective ways
of recording, assessing, allocating and investigating crime.
Forces are recording how many times they update victims, rather
than recording how effective the updates are at providing
information and support.
Demand on the police has increased over the last decade. Recorded
crime rates per 1,000 population have increased over that period,
yet the number of officers has not kept the same pace. Inspectors
found that investigators' workloads were too high, the complexity
of crimes is increasing, as is the time forces take to
investigate them. Additionally, many supervisors and
investigators are inexperienced and lacking the necessary
training.
Inspectors also found that, over the last decade, the
introduction of some operating models has prevented or
discouraged all officers and staff from developing an
investigative mindset. As a result, many forces lose
investigative opportunities from the moment when an incident or
crime is reported, then at various other stages in the process.
To more accurately assess how many investigators their forces
need, senior leaders must have a better understanding of their
overall crime-related demand.
It is clear outcomes for victims are not good enough, with
victims often withdrawing their support for investigations,
citing delays in the criminal justice process as a key factor.
These can be caused by problems such as high workloads, delays in
obtaining charging decisions, or the time it takes for a case to
be tried in court.
Despite the challenges, there were dozens of examples of good
initiatives that forces have introduced to improve the standard
of crime investigations and achieve better outcomes for victims,
including creating digital toolkits, using retired detectives as
coaches and updating victims through the My Police Portal app.
HMICFRS has made 11 recommendations to chief constables, police
forces and others to make sure they build a better understanding
of their crime-related demand and the resources they need so they
can meet it. Inspectors recommended more effective processes,
better training for all and improved supervision of crime
investigations.
His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman
said:
“There is little in policing that is more important to the public
than investigating crime. The consequences of not doing it
consistently well, means lower levels of public trust and
confidence in policing, and in the wider criminal justice system.
“When a crime is reported, the public have a right to expect that
the police will record and investigate it effectively. Victims of
crime also have the right to expect to receive regular updates.
“We spoke to many officers and staff working tirelessly to
investigate crime and achieve positive outcomes for victims.
However, we found that all too often, investigators' efforts are
hampered by ineffective force processes which means that often
forces don't put victims first.
“And it is evident that chief constables do not have sufficient
resources to investigate all volume crime to a standard that they
and the public wish to see.
“While forces undoubtably need more officers and staff, with the
resources they have, there is much they can do.
“There are many good examples of initiatives across forces as
they work hard to improve the effectiveness of crime
investigations and the service they give to victims. I encourage
chief constables to consider how they can adopt these or take
similar approaches in their forces.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
- ‘Crime investigations: An inspection into how effectively the
police investigate crime' will be published at 00:01 on Thursday
27 March 2025.
- The focus of the report is on volume crime.
- The forces inspected included Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria
Constabulary, Essex Police, Greater Manchester Police, Norfolk
Constabulary, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and West
Midlands Police between May and July 2024.
