More than 1,000 crimes a day during the pandemic in 24 hours
Police forces dumped more than 1,000 crimes per day during the pandemic within 24 hours of receiving reports from victims. Despite crime Levels dropped as the public was largely confined to their homes, one in seven crimes reported to police last year dropped within 24 hours. Shocking figures show that during the isolation some forces even doubled the number of crimes they “leaked,” meaning that investigations were abandoned within 24 hours.
Thousands of crimes as serious as death threats, kidnapping, rape, violent assaults and arson were abandoned as many overburdened forces struggled to prioritize their resources due to pressure to enforce Covid restrictions and with large numbers of officers. sick or self-isolated.
On average, 15 percent of the cases were closed without an official meeting with the victim. Although residential burglaries fell by 22 percent in England and Wales last year, more than half of them were not investigated by some forces. A staggering 29,730 residential burglaries were filed in 24 hours, the figures show.
According to a monthly breakdown, up to 63% of reported thefts were eliminated by force. In general, crimes are more likely to be eliminated if they are judged as “minor damages” or if the evidence is scant. But figures released under the freedom of information rules show that during the pandemic there was a worrying increase in the number of more serious crimes that went uninvestigated.
Last year, 71 rapes and another 429 sex crimes were detected in 24 hours, despite a 7 percent drop in overall sex crimes in England and Wales.
There was an increase in the number of violent incidents and arson canceled, with around 42,073 violent crimes discarded, an increase of 6 percent in 2019. There was a 4 percent increase in reports of arson cases that were eliminated, with 6,753 reports archived last year compared to 6,483 in 2019. A breakdown of crime types shows that 18,751 robberies went unpunished even though crimes fell by more than a quarter (26 percent) in the period. Police also examined 20,809 shoplifting cases and a staggering 40,438 vehicle-related crimes.
Other canceled crimes include 1,137 assaults and 423 drug possession cases and 171 gun possession cases. Scotland Yard, Britain’s largest force, closed 31 percent of new cases in one day, second only to the Northern Ireland Police Service, which eliminated 38 per cent.
Bedfordshire Police provided a monthly breakdown showing that up to 63% of residential burglaries, 73% of vehicle crimes and 80% of shoplifting cases were sometimes abandoned.
The force also reduced up to 6 percent of reported rapes and 13 percent of reported sexual crimes, though it said its data collection was “unreliable.” In April, a damning report from Her Majesty’s Police Inspectorate warned that officers had been offering ‘partially reduced service’ with crime reports removed at the earliest opportunity due to coronavirus restrictions.
Yesterday, James Mulholland QC, President of the Criminal Lawyers Association, said: “ When dozens of robberies and violent attacks on people end up not even being investigated, we run the risk that the public will lose confidence that crimes and their alleged perpetrators are being dealt with in a manner consistent with the seriousness of the offense.
“Filtering out crime swaths that may not be categorized as serious enough, but can leave lasting trauma for the victim, can send a message that some members of the public just don’t count. “Public confidence in criminal justice can be undermined and there is a risk that people will take matters into their own hands if swaths of crime reported by the police are eliminated.”
Dame Vera Baird, Victims Commissioner for England and Wales, said: ‘If the public knew that this is happening on this scale, they would be shocked and outraged. Anyone who reports a crime deserves an appropriate response from the police.
A spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs Council said: “All crime reports are taken seriously, but the police will focus their resources on the incidents that cause the most harm and where they can ensure a positive outcome for the public. In some cases, there may not be enough intelligence or data for the police to act. This does not mean that a crime is closed indefinitely or that intelligence or information is ignored.
Changes to the police record in 2015 required forces to record more crimes where there were no suspects and limited prospects for a criminal justice outcome. That, combined with an increase in public reporting of crimes, has led to an increase in the number of cases that have been shown to have been closed after an initial investigation. The safety of the public continues to be our main concern ”.