Police will work to ensure that the reporting and recording of crime is more consistent across the service

“Police record over three million crimes against victims every year. It is important that those crimes are recorded accurately so that the police can take the right action for each victim of crime. 

“Pressures from workload and target culture, use of professional judgement in the interests of victims, lack of understanding of recording rules or inadequate supervision can all lead to inaccurate crime recording.  There have been allegations of improper practice, such as dishonest manipulation, in crime recording, however, the biggest and most in-depth inspection ever conducted by HMIC could not find anyone to come forward with any firm evidence to support this. 

“HMIC found unacceptable inconsistency around the country in recording practices, particularly of sexual offences. This cannot be excused and has to change. 

“It is essential that victims of serious sexual offences have the confidence to report crimes to the police and I have been working closely with the Home Office to ensure the that reporting and recording is done more consistently across the service. 

“As the review identifies, many chief officers have shown leadership in emphasising the importance of accurate and ethical crime recording. Crime recording processes have been simplified, the College of Policing are developing training and direction in the Code of Ethics and crime reports are now being taken directly from the public in some force control rooms. 

“The report identifies that target culture under successive governments and inspectorates of constabulary may well have had a detrimental effect on accurate crime recording, which will take time to reverse. I am committed to working with HMIC, the Home Office and the Crime Statistics Advisory Committee to bring about change.”