Agenda item

1.            The Chairman explained that this item had been added to the agenda as result of recent Office of National Statistics (ONS) report that indicated that violent crime had increased in Kent by 31% last year.

2.            The Commissioner explained that, although the statistics on violent crime included a wide range including homicide and robbery the increase primarily referred to lower level offences.

3.            The Commissioner stated that a significant cause for the increase was the review she requested into crime recording accuracy, the result of which has been a more rigorous approach when deciding whether or not a crime should be recorded.  With recording accuracy now up from 90% to 96% (the highest in the country), there has been a consequent increase in recorded crime figures.  Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have confirmed that this assessment is fair and agree that a significant proportion of the increase is the result of improved recording accuracy.  The Commissioner also explained that the increased figures include the retrospective assessment of crimes, which have now been separated into multiple offences where appropriate, again contributing to an overall increase in crime figures.

4.            The Commissioner explained that the latest internal figures from Kent Police show a sharp year on year decrease, leading to forecasts that the violent crime figures will level out soon.  Additional figures from HMIC due in late April were expected to support this assessment.  The Commissioner commented that Kent was in a better situation than many other forces that were only now undertaking their own accuracy reviews, which would result in huge crime figure increases for them, whereas Kent has managed the process over a longer period of time.

5.            The Commissioner highlighted the fact that domestic abuse accounted for 33% of all violent crime in Kent.  There has been a 9% increase in domestic abuse reports, a third of which are first time reports which was an excellent step forward.  Generally domestic abuse is under reported and victims often only report abuse after multiple incidents.  The Chief Constable has reassured the Commissioner that this was being managed and recorded appropriately.  The Panel requested information relating to conviction rates including domestic abuse.

6.            The Chairman stated that he was pleased with the positive work being undertaken on crime recording. The Chairman said that the Panel had been told on several occasions that the increased crime level was largely due to improved accuracy of recording and that it was not possible to compare meaningfully with earlier years. The Chairman asked when there would be data available to show crime levels for a twelve month period, all compiled with the same level of accuracy. The Commissioner said that this data would be available in June and the Panel therefore requested that a full report on crime figures and performance be provided to the September. A Member requested that this data include conviction rates.

RESOLVED that the Panel note the Commissioner’s report; that the Commissioner provide a further report on updated full year crime figures to the September Panel meeting and that the Commissioner provide the Panel with conviction rate information including domestic abuse.