The police force that fails to log 220 crimes A DAY: Manchester service comes under fire for ‘letting victims down’ by not recording one in five offences
- A report revealed that more than 80,000 alleged offences were not recorded
- Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said 40 per cent of allegations were ‘screened out’
- HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoe Billingham said she was ‘deeply troubled’ by the number of cases closing without a proper investigation
More than 200 crimes a day have been going unrecorded by England’s second largest police force, a damning report reveals today.
In what the police inspectorate called a ‘serious cause of concern’, it found that Greater Manchester Police was not recording around one in five crimes reported.
That figure rose to one in four violent crimes and represented more than 80,000 alleged offences in total – around 220 a day.
The alarming finding comes after a row when the force last year admitted it ‘screened out’ more than 40 per cent of allegations it did record, meaning investigations were ended within 24 hours.
Under fire: Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins
At the time Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins admitted that if there is no CCTV or witnesses when the theft of a bicycle or a shed break-in is reported, the likelihood of an officer turning up is ‘almost non-existent’.
Concern: Zoe Billingham
In today’s report HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoe Billingham said she was ‘deeply troubled’ by how often cases are closed without a proper investigation.
She added that ‘in too many cases’ there was no evidence to confirm the victim’s wishes had been properly considered before the investigation was closed.
In response the force blamed disruption from ‘centralising’ its crime recording processes as well as the challenges posed by the pandemic.
The report, which focuses on the 12 months to June 30, estimated that GMP recorded 77.7 per cent of reported crimes – an 11.3 per cent drop from 2018.
Miss Billingham said: ‘Victims of crime are too often being let down by Greater Manchester Police.
‘The service provided to victims, particularly those who are most vulnerable, is a serious cause of concern.’
This was ‘extremely disappointing’ as Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services had been urging Greater Manchester Police to make improvements since 2016, she added.
She said the force’s performance was ‘simply not good enough’ but acknowledged it was ‘taking action to address these deficiencies’.
Greater Manchester Police Headquarters in Manchester.
Last night Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling said: ‘I can reassure the public that the issues identified in the report have been treated very seriously and reflected upon and we have robust plans to implement any outstanding learning and secure the best possible outcomes for victims going forward.’
Greater Manchester’s deputy mayor Beverley Hughes said some of the findings were ‘disappointing’.
She added she had spoken with Mr Hopkins who ‘must now move quickly to make improvements’.