-Caveat Lector- Don't bother about burglary, police told By Daniel Foggo (Filed: 12/01/2003)
Police have been ordered not to bother investigating crimes such as burglary, vandalism and assaults unless evidence pointing to the culprits is easily available, The Telegraph can reveal. Under new guidelines, officers have been informed that only "serious" crimes, such as murder, rape or so-called hate crimes, should be investigated as a matter of course. In all other cases, unless there is immediate and compelling evidence, such as fingerprints or DNA material, the crime will be listed for no further action. The new "crime screening" guidelines were quietly introduced in the Metropolitan Police area last month and similar measures are being brought into effect by forces across Britain as pressure grows on senior officers to maintain a tighter control over budgets. A Met spokesman confirmed that "less serious crimes" would now only be investigated if they were considered to be "solvable using proportionate resources", or were part of a current crackdown on specific offences. He said: "It might mean that people who have had their bikes stolen from outside a shop might not get any investigation into it. It is looking at the high priorities for crime in the community." The Met's policy document states that when crimes are of a less serious nature and there are no "special factors", such as a particularly vulnerable victim, they will now be logged but not solved. Oliver Letwin, the shadow home secretary, said last night: "This news will be regarded as the final nail in the coffin of this Government's policy on crime. Instead of zero tolerance it seems we are to be faced with total tolerance." The Home Office denied that it had originated the new policy. A spokesman said: "Crime screening is a matter for individual forces. We have made the investigation of burglaries a national priority and we are certainly not directing forces to avoid investigating them." 11 January 2003: Public has zero tolerance of Blair on crime 10 January 2003: Sex attacks, burglaries and car thefts all rise 9 January 2003: Why burglaries should set off Whitehall alarms 8 January 2003: No 10 rebukes Irvine over burglars 21 December 2002: Police attack rule sparing burglars from jail 20 December 2002: Don't jail 'less serious' burglars, says Woolf Previous story: All on death row reprieved by US retiring governor Next story: N Korea says it will resume missile tests Related reports Lord Woolf's home crimewave Police union calls for armed officers External links First quarterly statistics update shows crime rate remains stable as fear of crime drops [9 Jan '02] - Home Office Crime reduction - Home Office Metropolitan Police http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/01/12/nburg12.xml&sShe et=/news/2003/01/12/ixnewstop.html © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003. 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