Forces must improve the effectiveness of crime investigations and achieve better outcomes for victims
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.
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An inspection into how effectively the police investigate crime
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.”
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An inspection into how effectively the police investigate crime
Notes
- The focus of this 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.
- For further information, the HMICFRS Press Office can be contacted at 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.