North Wales Police still needs to improve how it records crime
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today published an assessment on the accuracy of crime recording in North Wales Police, which found that the force records around 88 percent of crimes reported to it.
Get the report
North Wales Police: Crime Data Integrity inspection 2017
HMICFRS previously inspected the accuracy of crime recording in North Wales Police in 2014.
To assess the extent that recorded crime information in North Wales Police can be trusted, HMICFRS asked:
- How effective is the force at recording reported crime?
- How efficiently do the systems and processes in the force support accurate crime recording?
- How well does the force demonstrate the leadership and culture necessary to meet the national standards for crime recording?
Based on these criteria, overall HMICFRS has judged North Wales Police as ‘requires improvement’.
HM Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said:
“I am pleased that the quality of crime recording in North Wales Police has
improved in some respects since our 2014 inspection. However, further work is needed, as we estimate over 5,300 reports of crime each year are not recorded by the force. This is depriving many victims of the services to which they are entitled.“It is concerning to find that officers and staff are often not making accurate crime-recording decisions at the first opportunity. This is the case particularly when dealing with reports of violent crime, especially domestic abuse incidents.
“Deficiencies in the force’s crime-recording processes, insufficient understanding of crime-recording requirements, and limited supervision to correct the decisions of officers and staff are causing these inaccuracies.
“Due to the time taken to record reports of crime – often in excess of 24 hours – we found there were delays in referrals to support services. This results in victims often not getting the early support they need.
“I am encouraged by the concerted effort that the force has taken to improve crime recording since its last inspection, and in particular by the very good levels of crime-recording accuracy found in respect of sexual offences, including rapes. It is also positive that all the recommendations made at that time have been implemented. We have, however, made further recommendations, which I expect will be met with the same approach. Improvements must continue to be made and I look forward to seeing the results at our next inspection.”
Get the report
North Wales Police: Crime Data Integrity inspection 2017
Notes to editors
- HMICFRS is an independent inspectorate, inspecting policing to promote improvements in policing that make everyone safer, and assesses and reports on the efficiency and effectiveness of police forces to tackle crime and terrorism, improve criminal justice and raise confidence.
- On 19 July 2017 HMIC took on responsibility for fire & rescue service inspections and was renamed HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.
- HMICFRS inspects all 43 police forces in England and Wales together with other major policing and law enforcement bodies.
- HMICFRS are unable to make direct comparisons with the 2014 inspection due to a change in the methodology used. In particular, the 2014 inspection was a dip-sample of records in each force which contributed to a statistically robust rate for crime-recording accuracy for England and Wales, whereas this inspection is working to a statistically robust standard within each force.
- Further information on how North Wales Police is performing can be found on HMICFRS online assessment tool
- For further information, HMICFRS’ press office can be contacted during office hours from 8:30am – 5:00pm Monday – Friday on 0203 513 0600.
- HMICFRS’ out-of-hours press office line for urgent media enquiries is 07836 217729.