‘High standards’ of crime data integrity at PSNI praised by inspectors

A report published by the inspectorate on Wednesday (May 1) found the PSNI has maintained its crime-recording accuracy since its 2015 inspection.

HMICFRS examined crime reports from June to August last year and estimates that the PSNI records 96.2 per cent of crimes reported to it.

It found the PSNI “effectively audits, reviews and monitors crime reports and incident records”, has processes in place for reclassification and cancellation of crimes, and has trained all frontline officers and staff in crime recording.

Since its last crime data integrity inspection, the PSNI has also established the dedicated post of service crime registrar, said HMICFRS.

“The service crime registrar is responsible for overseeing and auditing crime-recording requirements,” said the inspectorate. “They are supported by a deputy service crime registrar. They have both completed the College of Policing national training course for force crime registrars and are fully accredited for their roles.”

However, despite these advances, inspectors found certain areas where improvement was needed, including improving its understanding, recording and classification of rape crimes and reported incidents of rape, and addressing gaps in its systems and processes for identifying and recording all crimes relating to anti-social behaviour incidents.

Arrangements also needed to be put in place for the transfer of crimes to other police forces, together with assessing what protected characteristics information it should collect for victims of crime and improve how it collects and analyses equality data through its crime reporting and recording systems.

Assistant Chief Officer Aldrina Magwood said: “We welcome this positive report grading our performance as good in crime recording. This is very encouraging as determined efforts are made by officers and staff  to maintain high-quality crime data.

“This is important for keeping people safe as this information builds a picture of where, when and how often crime is happening. This helps us to signpost victims to appropriate support services and when planning where to use our resources to best effect in investigations.

“The inspector states he is pleased with the Police Service’s recording of reported crime and notes that the service has maintained the high standards found since the last inspection of crime-data integrity in 2015. This extends to the well-established processes for crime recording and the application of relevant training for officers and staff involved in this work.

“We acknowledge that there are areas for improvement, and will now consider how we take forward the recommendations made by the Inspector.

“It is vital that people continue to tell us about crime when they see or experience it.  We would encourage anyone who has been a victim of crime or has information about crime to report it to us.

“Our priority remains – to deliver a visible, accessible and responsive community-focused policing service to keep people safe.”