A Welsh police force is failing to record thousands of crimes each year with violence and domestic abuse often going unrecorded, a damning report has found.
Dyfed-Powys Police is only recording 87.6% of all reported crime meaning an estimated 4,400 crimes are not recorded each year, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS)
More worryingly the figure drops where violent crime is concerned. Here only 85.4% of offences are being recorded – some involving domestic abuse or vulnerable victims.
Her Majesty’s inspector of constabulary Wendy Williams said: “Anyone who reports a crime should feel safe in the knowledge that their local police force will record it. I am concerned that Dyfed-Powys Police has consistently failed to record so many crimes and is risking public safety.
“I am particularly worried that victims of domestic abuse are being let down by Dyfed-Powys Police. Failing to record these crimes often results in vulnerable victims not being safeguarded properly and no investigation taking place.”
In 2018 HMICFRS found the force was too often failing to record reported crimes and a follow-up inspection this year discovered Dyfed-Powys Police “had failed to make the expected improvements, with crime-recording levels broadly unchanged,” a spokesman for the inspectorate said.
Ms Williams added: “We told Dyfed-Powys Police to make improvements in crime recording two and a half years ago, yet it has still not made any progress.
“The people of Wales will rightly expect Dyfed-Powys Police to ensure their reports of crime are recorded, reported and taken seriously. We will therefore be closely monitoring the force’s performance to make sure that public safety comes first.”
The force has now been issued with a “cause of concern” with a spokesman for the inspecorate adding: “This process can be accelerated when a police force’s failures raise concerns about public safety – as is the case with Dyfed-Powys Police. HMICFRS will monitor Dyfed-Powys Police’s progress against its recommendations.”
With immediate effect HMICFRS has recommended Dyfed-Powys Police should improve its systems and processes for recording reported crimes, paying particular attention to domestic abuse and ensure adequate supervision of the crime-recording decisions made by police officers and staff.
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A spokesman for charity Welsh Women’s Aid said: “It is significantly disappointing to see the lack of improvement in the recording of domestic abuse crimes by Dyfed-Powys Police. The failure to record these crimes means the police are failing to hold perpetrators of abuse to account, allowing them to continue their abuse within our communities. This will be putting women and children at significant risk of further harm and increases the barriers to them accessing the support they need.
“It is vital that all police forces in Wales have effective training to identify and effectively investigate all incidents of domestic abuse, including coercive and controlling behaviour at the centre of so many survivors’ experiences of abuse.”
They added: “It is crucial that anyone experiencing domestic abuse can have confidence that if they chose to report to the police it will be treated with the utmost seriousness and the police will take all necessary action to ensure they are safe and supported.”
In response to the findings Dyfed-Powys Police temporary chief constable Claire Parmenter said: “We accept the concerns and recommendations published by HMICFRS in respect of crime data integrity.
“As an organisation we are firmly committed to supporting victims and putting them at the heart of everything we do. The force has plans in place to improve its crime recording and I am determined we will get this right.”
She said significant improvements to their response to domestic abuse victims had been made since the 2018 inspection. “[We have created] the vulnerability desk which provides real-time intelligence to officers attending incidents of domestic abuse and ensuring that safeguarding arrangements are in place through a new partnership hub.
“Recent audits in April evidenced we were achieving a 98% compliance for the completion of risk assessments. This ensures that every domestic abuse victim is looked after and kept safe.”
“We have a programme of change already in place which will deliver significant process and cultural change. The elements of this programme will improve the force’s ability to manage demand, support victims, improve the timeliness and quality of investigations and supervision of crime.
“HMICFRS were unable to take this project into account as part of this inspection. Delivery plans commence next month (June 2021).
“Since the date of this inspection we are already seeing improvements as a result of the swift additional action we have taken, achieving 100% crime recording compliance in respect of anti-social behaviour for February and March 2021 which is positive.”
