British police failing to probe crimes

Britain’s police watchdog has warned that police forces across the country are failing to investigate crimes, with more than a fifth of crimes are not being recorded.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) released a report on Thursday revealing that 20.3 percent of crimes were not recorded at 21 forces across England and Wales.

The watchdog examined samples of crime reports in each force over 12 months to October 2013 and made its own assessment based on the facts whether a crime should have been recorded or dismissed.

The HMIC also found that in a number of forces, officers had erroneously recorded up to 45 percent of incidents as “no crimes,” meaning no investigation took place and offenders were not brought to justice.

Among the forces which had the highest percentages of “no crimes” were Cleveland, which had a 45 percent rate of incorrect incidents, followed by Cheshire with 41 percent.

HMIC inspectors found that Cheshire’s recording of rape cases was unacceptable, as officers used their own judgment to decide whether a report of rape should be recorded as a crime.

Greater Manchester Police was also criticized for their handling of rape incidents, with victims suffering from mental health, those young of age or intoxicated “more likely to receive a poor service.”

The report comes amid widespread concern that some police forces across Britain have been “fiddling” the crime figures.

Earlier this year, chief Inspector of Constabulary for England and Wales, Tom Winsor, admitted the involvement of some officers in manipulating crime figures to give a more positive picture of their work.