Hundreds of crimes not investigated

Report reveals the impact of Police Scotland’s decision not to examine every low-level crime

By Chris Green

More than 200 reported crimes in the north of Scotland were not investigated by police in the first few weeks of a new policy being rolled out across the country.

Under the ‘proportionate response to crime’ approach, Police Scotland is no longer assigning officers to every low-level crime when there are no realistic leads.

David Threadgold, chair of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), told 1919 there is evidence that the policy could increase the risk of damage to public confidence in policing, and could “further alienate” officers from local communities.

But Police Scotland insisted the force is “committed to investigating crime” and urged the public to continue reporting incidents.

A report presented to the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) reveals that the policy has now been rolled out nationally across the force’s three regional command areas.

The first section to adopt the policy was North Command, which covers the Highlands and Islands, the north-east, and Tayside, where it has been in place since May 1.

East Command, which includes Edinburgh and Fife, came next on May 27, followed by West Command (greater Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire) where it has only been in place since June 24.

Police Scotland decided on a national rollout after a 12-week trial in the north-east last year resulted in officers being freed up to look into other reported crimes.

Low-level crime reports where there are no investigative opportunities such as CCTV or witnesses are filed – rather than being actively examined.

Police Scotland has stressed that decisions are based on an assessment of threat, harm, risk and vulnerability and that officers will still attend incidents when required.

The report presented to the SPA by Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond shows that in the first three weeks since the policy went live in the North Command area, 212 crime reports were ‘directly filed’ rather than being investigated, or 3.4 per cent of the total.

It states that assurance reviews have also been carried out into a total of 848 crime reports where the policy was applied, with issues only discovered in a ‘small number’ of cases.

It adds: “We want to remain open and transparent with people contacting the police. If there are no lines of enquiry to pursue, we do not want to set an expectation that there are things that the police can do when no lines of enquiry exist.”

“Police Scotland is making this decision because it hasn’t got the capacity to deal with the demand”

David Threadgold, chair of the Scottish Police Federation

But SPF chair David Threadgold said: “Police Scotland is making this decision because it hasn’t got the capacity to deal with the demand that exists.

“Let me be clear, this is a financial decision, and will only provide a sub-optimal service to the communities of Scotland where the real risk of missed investigative opportunities, community engagement and a further lack of relevance in the communities of Scotland will prevail.

“This is not going to deal with the demand, we are already seeing hundreds of calls that are not being timeously allocated, potentially frustrating members of the public who have taken the time to legitimately contact the police.

“I see little chance of improvement in this area as the rollout becomes national without further recruitment into this area of business, further reducing the front line.”

He also raised concerns that criminals could start targeting areas where the policy is more likely to be applied, such as towns and villages with high elderly populations where households are unlikely to have CCTV or video-enabled doorbells.

And he pointed out that many of the initial calls from members of the public reporting such incidents would be taken by support staff rather than trained police officers.

“Clearly there is a potential to miss investigative opportunities, regardless of what the screen says in front of you, because you just do not have that investigative mindset that police officers have and the public would expect when contacting the police,” he added.

ACC Bond said: “The proportionate response to crime process is not a policy of non-investigation – we are committed to investigating crime.

“Taking a proportionate response to crime is not a new concept, but we’ve never had a national process or standard across Scotland.

“Every crime report is subject of individual assessment of threat, harm, risk, vulnerability and for proportionate lines of investigation and evidence, and that won’t change.

“By taking a proportionate response to crime reporting, we can give officers more time to focus on local policing, keeping people safe from harm, protecting the vulnerable, bringing criminals to justice, solving problems, and reducing offending.

“Please continue to report crime to us. All reports are recorded and – even if they are closed – are passed to our local policing teams to be kept under review and to help build an intelligence picture, enabling them to proactively respond to local concerns.”

Detection rates decline for range of crimes

By Chris Green and Cordelia O’Neill

 

But SPF chair David Threadgold said: “Police Scotland is making this decision because it hasn’t got the capacity to deal with the demand that exists.

“Let me be clear, this is a financial decision, and will only provide a sub-optimal service to the communities of Scotland where the real risk of missed investigative opportunities, community engagement and a further lack of relevance in the communities of Scotland will prevail.

“This is not going to deal with the demand, we are already seeing hundreds of calls that are not being timeously allocated, potentially frustrating members of the public who have taken the time to legitimately contact the police.

“I see little chance of improvement in this area as the rollout becomes national without further recruitment into this area of business, further reducing the front line.”

He also raised concerns that criminals could start targeting areas where the policy is more likely to be applied, such as towns and villages with high elderly populations where households are unlikely to have CCTV or video-enabled doorbells.

And he pointed out that many of the initial calls from members of the public reporting such incidents would be taken by support staff rather than trained police officers.

“Clearly there is a potential to miss investigative opportunities, regardless of what the screen says in front of you, because you just do not have that investigative mindset that police officers have and the public would expect when contacting the police,” he added.

ACC Bond said: “The proportionate response to crime process is not a policy of non-investigation – we are committed to investigating crime.

“Taking a proportionate response to crime is not a new concept, but we’ve never had a national process or standard across Scotland.

“Every crime report is subject of individual assessment of threat, harm, risk, vulnerability and for proportionate lines of investigation and evidence, and that won’t change.

“By taking a proportionate response to crime reporting, we can give officers more time to focus on local policing, keeping people safe from harm, protecting the vulnerable, bringing criminals to justice, solving problems, and reducing offending.

“Please continue to report crime to us. All reports are recorded and – even if they are closed – are passed to our local policing teams to be kept under review and to help build an intelligence picture, enabling them to proactively respond to local concerns.”