Crime recording process hurting police, says Chief Constable

Dave Thompson, the region's highest ranked officer, said forces were having to record "undetectable matters" and that this was impacting on results for solving crime.

The Chief Constable's comments came after the police watchdog warned public confidence in the police was being eroded by failure to investigate crimes such as burglary.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said people are increasingly not bothering to report certain offences such as car crime.

The Express & Star reported recently that more than nine in 10 car crimes in the West Midlands are going unsolved.

Mr Thompson said there needed to be a re-think about how crimes are recorded as he stressed under-pressure forces were never going to be able to solve every offence.

He said: "If you drive a pretty senseless crime recording approach we are going to record lots of undetectable matters that would surprise the public we record. This is playing a part in detection rates falling.

"Crime recording needs a review. Some parts of it vital but its lost its way."

The Chief Constable also criticised the watchdog for being "slow on pointing out the system breaking under austerity" as he insisted police forces had been hit hard by budget cuts over the last decade.

Warley MP John Spellar, however, suggested the police needed to do more, saying his constituents "were suffering from violent burglaries and car thefts and are terrified in their own homes".

The warning from HMICFRS followed an inspection of 14 police forces, which did not include West Midlands.

Staffordshire Police was among those inspected and was rated good in three main areas: effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy.

The inspectorate said the Staffordshire force was "good at reducing crime and keeping people safe" and that it "focuses on preventing crime, rather than just reacting to it".