Police urged to step up detections
An influential committee of MPs have called on the police to step up their efforts on crime detection.
The Home Affairs Select Committee said that while it accepts that crime detection figures do not distinguish between serious and minor crimes, the overall detection rate is too low.
It pointed out that only 19 per cent of reported crimes lead to an offender being punished by the courts. At the moment, it notes: “It is still a matter for concern that too few criminals are brought to justice.”
Overall, the committee said that police reform was moving in the right direction and praised the simplification of targets and increased emphasis on local decision-making.
But the committee warned that too many officers were still doing paperwork rather than engaging in frontline duties and called for the statistics on frontline policing to be revised so that they no longer include time spent on paperwork.
And it called for more officers on the beat and for the police to make better use of IT systems – which could save time and resources.
Ultimately, the MPs said that the true test of reform would be whether crime rates fall, in particular whether the PSA (Public Service Agreement) target of a 15 per cent fall by 2007/08 is met.
The report did note that 40 out of 43 forces in England and Wales have reduced the levels of target crime in the twelve months up to June 2004.
Committee chairman John Denham said: “The overall priority for police forces is, and must continue to be, a reduction in crime and the fear of crime.
“We are starting to see a performance culture embedding itself in police forces across the country. Priorities have been simplified over the three-year programme and we’re beginning to see a far greater emphasis on local decision-making, a trend that should be actively encouraged. Community Support Officers have proved popular with the public and there has been considerable progress on negotiations surrounding officers’ pay and conditions.
“However, despite good attempts to reduce bureaucracy, too many officers are still at their desks dealing with paperwork when they could be out on the beat, policing on the front line and giving the public the visible presence they need and want.”
Key recommendations include a rationalisation of the organisations involved in police reform, improved police training budgets, better recruitment of minority groups and more rapid progress on the adoption of DNA technology.
Chris Fox, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), rejected criticism of the detection rates, saying that the police were focusing on the most prolific criminals.
Mr Fox said: “We recognise that victims deserve to see offenders brought to justice for crimes committed. However, while many criminals caught by the police have committed more than one offence, a successful prosecution and conviction will assist in the overall prevention of crime, even where the other offences committed may not be brought to a satisfactory conclusion. We have every confidence that we are catching and convicting the right people.”
The ACPO was also cautious about the recommendation to reduce paperwork, saying that reducing paperwork did not equate with redeployment on the streets.
He added: “Freeing up police officers from unnecessary paperwork and administration is something we are all working towards, but we must be careful not to equate the reduction in bureaucracy with deployment back on the front line. More effective than having simply greater numbers on the streets is having the right people and the right numbers deployed in the right places, where the public want it and where they need it.”
