Top cops’ decision to stop probing thousands of crimes in bid to save £400million has been branded a crooks’ charter
It is expected that 150,000 fewer offences will be investigated as critics say that the Met is failing taxpayers and could force the public to become vigilantes
HUNDREDS of thousands of crimes will no longer be probed by Britain’s biggest police force.
Burglaries, thefts and some assaults are being ignored unless a victim report identifies a suspect.
It was revealed to the Met’s 30,000 officers last month in a £400million cost-cutting move.
A former police chief said: “No consideration is being given to victims.”
Critics say the Met is failing taxpayers by refusing to detect a range of offences.
They fear the worst criminals will evade justice — and force the public to turn vigilante.
Changes to the way victims’ reports of a crime are assessed are expected to see 150,000 fewer offences being investigated each year. The new guidelines say:
- BURGLARIES should only be probed if culprits have used violence or tricked their way in;
- CRIMES involving a loss of under £50 should not be investigated unless there is an identified suspect;
- OFFICERS need not probe low-level incidents of grievous bodily harm or car crime unless there is an identifiable suspect;
- CCTV should only be analysed if the crime occurs in a 20-minute time frame and sharp images showing a suspect can be collected immediately.
The Met aims to save £400million by 2020. That comes on top of £600million it has already lost from its £3.7billion annual budget due to Government curbs on public spending.
Ex-Met Det Chief Insp Mick Neville said: “This is justice dreamed up by bean counters in shiny suit land.
“No consideration is being given to victims. The new principles will focus police attention on easy crimes where there is a known suspect.
“Few professional criminals target people who know them, so the worst villains will evade justice. Not investigating high volume crimes like shoplifting with a loss of under £50 will give junkies a green light to thieve.”
Ken Marsh, of the Met Police Federation, added: “The public are getting a raw deal. And officers will be under immense pressure if a criminal who should have been caught goes on to commit a serious crime.
“I see people taking the law into their own hands.”
Met chiefs believe they will reduce the overall number of investigations by a third without affecting detection figures, which are currently at 16.72 per cent.
A list of serious crimes including murder, sex offences and terrorism will still receive mandatory investigations.
By the end of 2018 officer numbers will have fallen to 28,000 from 32,000 12 months ago, says Mr Marsh.
Recorded crime in the capital rose by 5.7 per cent to 774,737 offences in the year to April 1. Gun crime was up 42 per cent and knife crime by a quarter.
Earlier this year The Sun revealed the Met solved eight per cent of 493,257 recorded burglaries from 2011-16.
It failed to identify a suspect in 85 per cent of those cases.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Mark Simmons said: “Serious crime and calls are up while officer numbers are down. The only solution is to prioritise things.
“We want officers focused on the more serious crimes where there is a realistic chance we can solve it.”
Force scraps burglary unit
A BURGLARY investigation unit has been axed after solving just ten per cent of crimes in five years.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary recorded 70,522 break-ins from 2011-16, cracking 7,263. Eighty per cent of suspects were never identified.
The force has been hit by £65million cuts and 655 fewer officers since a 2010 Government spending review.
