A REPORT by the policing watchdog which found that forces have all but given up investigating offences such as criminal damage or vehicle crime is a damning indictment of government policy, Labour has said.

The report, by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said this “mindset” had led to a concerning trend of asking victims to carry out investigations themselves.

Victims of high-volume offences like vehicle crime and “burglaries of properties other than dwellings” are asked questions by call-handlers to assess the likelihood of the crime being solved, inspectors found.

In some forces this included asking victims to check if there was CCTV or fingerprint evidence available, as well as requesting victims interview their neighbours and check second-hand sales websites for their property.

Inspector of Constabulary Roger Baker, who led the inspection, said: “It’s more a mindset, that we no longer deal with these things. And effectively what’s happened is a number of crimes are on the verge of being decriminalised.”

Elsewhere, the inspection found some forces were losing track of named suspects and wanted persons because they did not have effective systems in place to pursue them.

President of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) Sir Hugh Orde said: “The reality of austerity in policing means that forces must ensure that their officers’ time is put to best use and this means prioritising calls.”

Shadow policing minister Jack Dromey said: “People will rightly be extremely alarmed by this report’s suggestion that there are some crimes the police simply do not investigate.

“This is a damning indictment of this government’s claims to be cutting crime. In fact, what is being cut are the number of crimes investigated.”

paddym@peoples-press.com