In essence, if a victim reports a crime then the police will immediately record that crime. Only in circumstances where there is evidence to the contrary will a crime not be recorded.
Chief constables throughout the UK estimate that the initiative – which follows a report that police were under-recording crime or downgrading offences including attempted burglary and vandalism – could see crime figures rise from 5.2 million to 5.9 million.
The new 'counting method' comes into effect as from next Spring.
Commenting exclusively in The Times, Home Secretary David Blunkett added that the change will give police a "better picture" of what they're up against. Blunkett added: "This initiative will inevitably lead to an increase in the numbers of recorded crimes over the period in which it takes root, but I very much welcome the change."
Steve Pilkington, spokesman on crime recording for ACPO, said: "At present, forces take different approaches to logging crimes, and this inevitably creates misunderstanding and confusion. The new system will help everyone to have a clearer picture of what the true level of crime really is across the country." Indeed, the change in tactics has already been 'piloted' by the West Midlands, Avon and Somerset, Lancashire, Kent and Staffordshire forces.
Pilkington added: "From the experience of the five forces involved in the pilot scheme, ACPO estimates that crime figures would increase by anything between 10 and 15%."
The pilot project carried out in the West Midlands saw recorded crime rise by 16%. Speaking about the figures, Detective Inspector Gary Brown – crime support co-ordinator for the West Midlands force – stated: "In the long run the new method will help us greatly when it comes to spotting and tracking crime patterns."
Source
SMT
