Lincs police rated as '˜inadequate' following inspection

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) independently assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of police forces and found Lincolnshire Police was ‘inadequate’ as officers and staff too often fail to make correct crime-recording decisions at the first opportunity.

The report noted: “This is due to deficiencies in the force’s crime-recording processes, insufficient understanding of crime-recording requirements and limited supervision to correct the decisions of officers and staff and improve standards from the outset. This means the force is letting down many victims of crime.

“The force is failing to ensure it properly records all crimes of rape and all crimes of violence, including domestic abuse crimes and crimes reported directly to its public protection department.”

Deputy Chief Constable Craig Naylor has assured the public that errors in the force systems do not affect the service to victims or the pursuit of offenders.

He said: “We are deeply disappointed by this report and absolutely committed to ensuring we resolve the problem quickly and effectively.”

“We have made mistakes and we will not shirk from accepting and correcting them. We recognised last year that we needed to improve our crime recording processes and have put measures in place since this inspection. I am determined to ensure that our systems and processes match the high standards our force delivers to victims.

“Our focus and commitment is to ensure victims are at the centre of all that we do and I am confident that, despite issues in how we have recorded some crimes, that service has not slipped from the high standards we set ourselves.

“There are no ‘missed’ victims or offenders - what we have missed is the correct procedure for recording them.”

The report rated the force as inadequate in Overall crime-recording rate; Crime reports held on other systems but good for demonstrating the leadership and culture necessary to meet the national standards for crime recording.

DCC Naylor added: “The report highlights areas where we have excelled – making progress in placing the victim at the forefront of our crime-recording decisions; and we welcome the opportunity to learn and will do all we can to ensure improvements are made as quickly as possible.”