By Police wrongly cancel reports of serious crimes
Police forces across the UK have wrongly cancelled reports of serious crimes including rape, sexual offences, violence and robbery, according to a series of inspections.
Humberside Police are among the 43 forces to have incorrectly cancelled serious reports.
According to the Home Office, forces are given “clear guidance” on cancelling crimes.
Officers are permitted to cancel a crime report if new information comes to light which indicate beyond doubt that an incident did not take place.
But, the BBC Shared Data Unit found that in many cases, crimes are being cancelled without just cause, and victims often remain uninformed.
Inspections were carried out between 2016 and 2020 using a sample of cancelled crime reports.
From the sample taken, Humberside Police are said to have wrongly cancelled 40% of sexual offences reports – the second highest figure nationally.
Katie Russell, from the charity Rape Crisis, said that the “premature and inappropriate dropping of investigations” is a serious and longstanding concern.
“This latest analysis… highlights that these issues are still very much current,” she continued.
“Especially considering the wide-ranging, significant and often lifelong impacts of sexual violence and abuse on victims and survivors, these criminal justice failings are completely unacceptable.”
According to a spokesperson for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the organisation is “working to further improve the accuracy of crime reporting”.
“Police will never close a case if they are merely unclear as to whether a crime happened or not,” he added.
