Despite improvements, Nottinghamshire Police still failing to record some ‘complex crimes’

2 Oct 2018 11:42 AM

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has today published an assessment on the accuracy of crime recording in Nottinghamshire Police, which found that the force accurately records around 87 per cent of crimes reported to it.

Get the report

Nottinghamsire Police: Crime Data Integrity inspection 2018

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

HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoë Billingham said:

“I am pleased to see that Nottinghamshire Police has taken our recommendations on board since our last crime data integrity inspection in 2014. However, further effort is needed as almost one in eight crimes is missed off the books and for violent crime nearly one in five. This is of concern as it can prevent victims receiving the support they need and deserve, and prevent offenders being brought to justice.

“Although safeguarding measures were in place for many of the victims of crimes, there was little evidence of investigations being undertaken where the crime had not been recorded. More work needs to be done to support officers to recognise and record complex crimes like malicious communications and stalking and harassment.

“Violent and sexual crimes can be particularly distressing for victims. Recording their crime at the earliest opportunity means that victims can get the support they deserve from victim support services as soon as possible.

“The importance of correctly recording crime cannot be overlooked. If a force does not correctly record crime it cannot properly understand the demand on its services, nor provide support to those who need it most.

“We’ve made a series of recommendations that we think will help Nottinghamshire Police make better crime recording decisions. I am encouraged by the fact the force has immediately taken steps to address our concerns and made changes to their crime reporting processes and increased scrutiny around crime-recording decisions.

I am confident that the force’s leadership will make every effort to address our concerns and lead to real improvements.”

Get the report

Nottinghamsire 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 Nottinghamshire 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.