The crime scene: A review of police crime and incident reports
| Category | National report |
| Police Force | N/A |
| Date | 25 Jan 2012 |
Our review of police crime and incident reports in England and Wales considers the quality of crime and incident data, and the arrangements in place to ensure standards are maintained and improved.
It is important for police forces to have high quality data to ensure they can establish where, when and how often crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) is happening so they can plan their work to achieve the best outcomes for victims and communities. It also means that the public, Government and HMIC can get an accurate picture of crime and ASB in a particular area.
The review found that the majority of forces are performing well, and some progress has been made since HMIC’s 2009 report Crime Counts: A review of data quality for offences of the most serious violence. However, there remains wide variation in accuracy.
Read ‘The crime scene: A review of police crime and incident reports’
Read your force’s report
Read the press release
The process for recording crimes and incidents
The crime recording process has three key stages:
- Recording an incident: A member of the public calls for police assistance, or a police officer observes or discovers a crime. The police create an incident record.
- Recording a crime: If the police decide a crime was committed, they create a crime record (usually straight away).
- Investigating a crime: Investigations begin as soon as possible, usually with initial enquiries which look for possible leads and gather evidence (a ‘primary investigation’). A more detailed, ‘secondary investigation’ then takes place to consider the evidence gathered in the initial stages.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Bedfordshire Police
Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Cheshire Constabulary
City of London Police
Cleveland Police
Cumbria Constabulary
Derbyshire Constabulary
Devon and Cornwall Police
Dorset Police
Durham Constabulary
Dyfed-Powys Police
Heddlu Dyfed Powys
Essex Police
Gloucestershire Constabulary
Greater Manchester Police
Gwent Police
Heddlu Gwent
Hampshire Constabulary
Hertfordshire Constabulary
Humberside Police
Kent Police
Lancashire Constabulary
Leicestershire Constabulary
Lincolnshire Police
Merseyside Police
Metropolitan Police
Norfolk Constabulary
Northamptonshire Police
Northumbria Police
North Yorkshire Police
North Wales Police
Heddlu Gogledd Cymru
Nottinghamshire Police
South Yorkshire Police
South Wales Police
Heddlu De Cymru
Staffordshire Police
Suffolk Constabulary
Surrey Police
Sussex Police
Thames Valley Police
Warwickshire Police
West Mercia Police
West Midlands Police
West Yorkshire Police
Wiltshire Police