Sussex Police is good at recording crimes but could do better, an inspection report has revealed.
HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) looked at the way the force recorded crimes in a snapshot of 121 cases, less than a tenth of the number of calls received in a single day.
Inspectors found that while the way the force records crime was generally good, there were cases where it failed to notice that victims had been repeatedly subjected to crime and antisocial behaviour.
The report found: “Although Sussex Police has put in place good incident and crime recording processes, its IT systems are not fully linked. As a result information is not automatically shared.
“Staff in the Police Contact Centre (where initial calls for assistance are taken) have to initiate manual searches in order to accurately identify victims of repeat crime or ASB. This can affect especially vulnerable victims such as those who are disabled or elderly.
“However, the review took place before the force moved to a central crime recording structure.
“The force has a strong commitment to recording crime accurately, and the changes that were introduced have standardised and improved processes across Sussex.”
The report concluded that Sussex Police could do more to improve the quality of crime and incident recording. But it praised “strong leadership” and the force’s commitment.
Deputy Chief Constable Giles York said: “We do not always get it right and value scrutiny – whether in reports like this or direct feedback from the public.
“Improvements to our systems were already planned before this inspection in May, which have further improved the process seen by the HMIC."
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