Bedfordshire Police recording nine out of ten reported crimes, according to new report

7 Aug 2018 11:19 AM

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today published an assessment on the accuracy of crime recording in Bedfordshire Police, which found that the force properly records around 90 percent of crimes reported to it.

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Bedfordshire Police: Crime Data Integrity inspection 2018

HMICFRS previously inspected the accuracy of crime recording in Bedfordshire Police in 2014. For this latest inspection, HMICFRS has judged Bedfordshire Police’s crime recording as ‘requires improvement’.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said:

“I am pleased to see that Bedfordshire Police has made good progress since our last crime data integrity inspection in 2014. We saw a range of changes which show that the force is committed to improving crime recording practice.

“As a result, our inspection showed now just over 90% of all reported crimes are recorded. This is welcome news.

“But there is more work to do. Violent crime is still under-recorded, with only 86% of reported violent crimes making it onto the books.

“We saw evidence that officers and staff simply did not understand the Home Office’s crime recording rules, particularly in cases involving domestic abuse and vulnerable victims. Our case file audit identified 32 crimes involving vulnerable victims, but just over half were not recorded by the force.

“When a force’s understanding of the nature and extent of crime in its community is flawed, some victims may not get the help and support they urgently need. And when crimes against the vulnerable are not recorded, they might be exposed to further harm.

“Bedfordshire Police knows it has more to do to make sure every victim is heard and every crime is recorded. With some more hard work, I am confident that Bedfordshire Police will be able to make further improvements.”

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Bedfordshire Police: Crime Data Integrity inspection 2018

Notes to editors

  1. 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.
  2. On 19 July 2017 HMIC took on responsibility for fire & rescue service inspections and was renamed HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.
  3. HMICFRS inspects all 43 police forces in England and Wales together with other major policing and law enforcement bodies.
  4. HMICFRS is 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.
  5. Further information on how Bedfordshire Police is performing can be found on the HMICFRS online assessment tool.
  6. For further information, HMICFRS’s press office can be contacted during office hours from 8:30am – 5:00pm Monday – Friday on 020 3513 0600.
  7. HMICFRS’s out-of-hours press office line for urgent media enquiries is 07836 217729.