By Levi Jouavel and Chris Bell
BBC News
Time is running out if the police and the government are to restore public trust in policing, the Chief Inspector of Constabulary has warned.
In his annual report, Andy Cooke said police forces were experiencing “one of their biggest crises in living memory”.
“Atrocious” crimes committed by serving police officers had fuelled distrust, while too few criminals were being caught, he added.
Mr Cooke has called for new powers to enforce improvements.
In his annual assessment of policing in England and Wales, Mr Cooke’s first since his appointment last year, he said police were failing to keep up with rising demand from the public and too often were not doing the basics right.
‘Strained’
Charge rates had fallen by two-thirds since 2014, the report stated, while victims were increasingly dissatisfied with the police and wider criminal justice system.
“I can’t recall a time when the relationship between the police and the public was more strained than it is now,” Mr Cooke said.
“The public expectation of policing is that they prevent crime, they investigate crime properly, that they’re in the communities, they’re visible, that they answer 999 calls quickly. These are all the basics of policing.
“We’ve seen too many occasions where opportunities are being missed to catch offenders who are causing misery in our communities.”
Mr Cooke says the police are often “picking up the slack” for other parts of public services.
“Mental health is a great example,” he said. “Last year policing attended 600,000 mental health incidents. Most of those incidents there was no requirement for police to attend.”
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley wrote to health and social care services in Greater London in May, informing them the service would stop attending mental health incidents from September, except where there is an “immediate threat to life”.
Humberside Police introduced the Right Care, Right Person scheme in 2020 to ensure mental health calls are dealt with by relevant professionals.
However, he noted difficulties in vetting new recruits and the inexperience of a workforce which lost many established officers during David Cameron’s time as prime minister.
Furthermore, where failings have been identified, some forces have been too slow to implement improvements, he said.
Mr Cooke called on Home Secretary Suella Braverman to grant new enforcement powers to enforce compliance with the Inspectorate of Constabulary’s recommendations by the end of this year.
‘Horrendous acts’
Forces had taken too long to respond to recommendations in the 2016 State of Policing report relating to officers abusing their positions for sexual purposes, he said.
“Two forces did from the start what they should have done,” Mr Cooke said. “That should have been 43 forces.
“In those seven years, we have seen some truly horrendous acts by officers.
“The chances of these things happening would have been lessened had we had those powers at an earlier time.
“It would ensure police chiefs across the country would have to make the changes that are required to keep the public safe.”
‘Totally dysfunctional’
Labour shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the report was “truly damning”.
“It reveals the scale of damage which is the fault of successive Conservative home secretaries,” she said.
“These include systemic failings in policing and a totally dysfunctional criminal-justice system, with more criminals getting away with crimes, victims let down, vital neighbourhood policing devastated, record numbers of forces in special measures, and confidence in policing falling.
“Labour agrees with the Inspectorate that urgent reforms are needed – including much stronger action to raise standards and to increase the charge rate.
“We will introduce major reforms and we have made this a central part of Labour’s crime mission in government.”
‘Common-sense policing’
Ms Braverman said: “I thank the chief inspector of constabulary for his report and welcome his acknowledgement that crime is going down.
“But there is lots more to do and I equally share his concern that policing needs strong leaders, a greater focus on the basics and issues that matter most to the public – and to be more visible in communities.
“This is why I’ve been calling for common-sense policing. With the highest number of police officers than ever before, the police must deliver for victims.
“It has always been my priority to reduce burdens on policing and ensure they have the resources they need.
“Total funding for policing is now at over £17bn, including for high-visibility patrols in areas affected by violent crime and antisocial behaviour.”
