Dyfed-Powys Police has improved crime recording
Dyfed-Powys Police has improved in almost all aspects of crime recording, the police inspectorate has said.
Visit the progress against recommendations page
In May 2021, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) warned that Dyfed-Powys Police was only recording an estimated 87.6 percent of all reported crime – meaning an estimated 4,400 crimes were not recorded each year.
As a result, HMICFRS issued Dyfed-Powys Police with a cause of concern and made three urgent recommendations, including that the force should:
- improve its systems and processes for recording reported crimes, paying particular attention to domestic abuse;
- ensure adequate supervision of the crime-recording decisions made by police officers and staff; and
- provide better training for all police officers and staff working on crime recording.
HMICFRS revisited Dyfed-Powys Police in 2022 and found that the force had made good progress against these recommendations. It said the force is now estimated to be recording:
- 91.6* percent of all reported crime (excluding fraud);
- 88.4* percent of violent offences; and
- 98.8* percent of sexual offences, a statistically significant improvement compared to an estimated 92.2 percent in 2021.
HMICFRS said Dyfed-Powys Police has also provided crime recording training to all staff.
The inspectorate confirmed today that it would now discharge the cause of concern.
Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said:
“Accurate crime recording helps police forces prioritise investigations by using suitably skilled staff to give victims the service they deserve. It also helps forces to manage their resources and plan effectively for the future.
“After previously raising concerns in 2018 and again in 2021 about Dyfed-Powys Police’s failure to consistently record crimes, I am pleased that the force has now acted on our recommendations.
“The people of Wales will rightly expect Dyfed-Powys Police to ensure their reports of crime are recorded, reported, and taken seriously. On their behalf, I welcome the improvements that have been made over the past year. We will monitor the force’s performance to make sure that public safety continues to come first.”
Visit the progress against recommendations page
Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 07836 217 729.
- * Confidence intervals for these statistics are as follows:
- All reported crime = +/- 2.7 percent
- Violence offences = +/- 4.3 percent
- Sexual offences = +/- 1.6 percent
- In 2018, HMICFRS found that Dyfed-Powys Police was too often failing to record reported crimes.
- Through a follow-up inspection in 2021, the inspectorate found that Dyfed-Powys Police had failed to make the expected improvements, with crime-recording levels broadly unchanged.
- As a result, Dyfed-Powys Police was issued with a cause of concern in May 2021. This process can be accelerated when a police force’s failures raise concerns about public safety – as was the case with Dyfed-Powys Police.