Police forces dumped more than 1,000 crimes a day during the pandemic within 24 hours of receiving reports from victims. Despite crime levels plunging as the public were largely confined to their homes, one in seven crimes reported to police last year were dropped within 24 hours. Shocking figures show that during the lockdown some forces even doubled the number of crimes it 'screened out', which means investigations were abandoned within 24 hours. In April, a damning report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary warned that officers had been offering a partly 'reduced service' with crime reports dropped at the first opportunity due to coronavirus restrictions. 'Changes to police recording in 2015 required forces to record more crimes where there was no suspect and limited prospect of a criminal justice outcome.

Source: Daily Mail July 23, 2021 23:28 UTC