Essex Police defend “abysmal” record on solving crimes in Harlow
Crime / Thu 27th Jan 2022 at 12:50pm
ESSEX Police has defended what has been called its “abysmal” record on solving crimes in Harlow.
With top police bosses in front of the Harlow Council’s Scrutiny Committee in March as well as the Essex Police part of your council tax (probably) going up by another 5%, YourHarlow, once again, had a look at the solve rate.
Many will note the horrendous number of rapes (age over 16) committed in Harlow (119) but also the fact that not a single one was “solved”.
December 2020-December 2021
Number and number solved
Violence with injury: 986-185
Stalking/Harrassment: 1689-85
Rape: 119-0
Robbery-Personal Property: 66-2
Robbery-Biz Res: 279-10
Theft of Veh: 219-10
Theft from Person: 83-7
Arson-85-7
Hate Crime: 330-34
All the statistics, can be found below.
https://www.essex.pfcc.police.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/December-2021-District-Data.pdf
Chief Inspector Paul Austin, District Commander for Harlow, said: “Our officers work hard every day to investigate crime, support victims, and secure justice and between April and December last year officers solved 1,575 crimes.
“We have dedicated, specialist officers who investigate crimes and support victims.
“When an incident is reported to us, we look to see what investigative opportunities are available to us.
“We then carry out proportionate investigations to try and identify the person responsible.
“There are occasions where, despite these investigations, we are unable to identify a suspect and other occasions where we are unable to identify any investigative opportunities.
“We work with and support victims, and there are occasions where we are able to resolve incidents or issues in a way which they are happy with but doesn’t go through the court process.
“Some investigations can be lengthy and complex so can take time before they are classed as solved but we have taken steps to improve the quality of investigations and increase the chance of them going to court.
“We continue to focus on violence and offences that cause the most harm. These can be complex to investigate at times, however we remain committed to prioritising their investigation.
“Since January 2020, particularly with sexual offences, we have been seeking advice from the CPS at a much earlier stage to help develop and progress an investigation in order to increase the chance of a case going to trial.
“Closer working at an earlier stage is designed to improve the quality of cases and bring justice far quicker for all concerned.
“Here in Harlow, we work with partners to tackle issues as they arise. As part of the Harlow Safer Partnership, we work with the likes of the council and social care to devise solutions to issues such as anti-social behaviour, hate crime, and domestic abuse.
“We are also running an operation where high harm offenders are subjected to regular supervision to reduce the chance of them re-offending.
“And specialist teams like the Disruptor and Op Raptor teams are working every day to tackle those people intent on causing harm in our communities.”
If you have a question for the police, click below.
james nicholson
2022-01-27 13:14:27
How in the name of Christ can you defend not solving a single rape out of 119. It could be time to replace a lot of the detectives and senior Officers
Ms Klara Bow
2022-01-27 13:47:30
Is it me or do numbers not add up here? What exactly were the 1575 solved crimes as the list doesn't come anywhere near?
Nicholas
2022-01-27 14:01:38
119 rapes not solved. Define Solved. Was the offender identified? Did the offender get charged? Did the Jury find them guilty or not guilty? The polices job is to prove or disprove the offence. So just because 119 were reported it does not mean there were 119. Stats only show one side of the story. How many offenders get paltry sentences or no punishment at all. Are we to blame the police. Until the country gets tough on criminals they will continue laughing at us all.
Chris
2022-01-27 14:54:05
Lol. Another example of how public services can carry on charging while providing a questionable service despite clear evidence showing failing! Then even worse is they defend this-laughable! Surely the police should be put in special measures from charging any more money until they can provide greater value for money services with improved stats! It's always too easy to demand more money for a service, but that doesn't make it run any better! That is down to good management.. The government always bangs on about how much it has given to x and y, but this doesn't necessary convert to better services!
Adam
2022-01-27 15:16:21
Frankly Chief Inspector Paul Austin, should be dismissed and looking for a new role outside of policing. Performance as poor as this has to be management failure, clear out the management it would happen on the private world.
steve
2022-01-27 16:38:39
I handed them many videos of someone committing a crime and they just palmed it off and said they will have a word with them and tell them to not do it again. Didn't matter my property was stolen and damaged.
AB
2022-01-27 17:04:49
What a profoundly disappointing set of figures. Looks like a good time to be a criminal. I've always tried to support the police against unrealistic expectations, but these figures are lamentable.
Woody
2022-01-27 17:12:16
Rape: 119-0 Failure to solve a single rape case! Even when identifying and evidence Failed to follow up and investigate properly Failing those that rang 999 for help Then leaving them to wait for months before dropping investigation Sad failure
Tiffany
2022-01-27 17:16:26
The reality here is you cannot write too much about this disgraceful state of policing and the corruption in Harlow as the police will make your life a misery. A friend was going to make complaint to Robert Halfon MP about the lack of help regarding being assaulted, the senior officer said him and his wife should think very seriously before making any formal complaint ! A Policemen raped a woman that it took years for anything to be done by Harlow police, she and her husband suffered mental breakdowns because of police harassment. It Took years to Kick him out ! The court case against a young policeman who assaulting a man, the officers mentor pressured the witnesses of the case not to attend Chelmsford to give evidence. the robbery of an elderly woman in Harlow town centre caught on cctv clearly showing the face of the mugger that was reported to crime stoppers, he was never questioned! The list goes On !
Tiffany
2022-01-27 17:17:54
The reality here is you cannot write too much about this disgraceful state of policing and the corruption in Harlow as the police will make your life a misery. A friend was going to make complaint to Robert Halfon MP about the lack of help regarding being assaulted, the senior officer said him and his wife should think very seriously before making any formal complaint ! A Policemen raped a woman that it took years for anything to be done by Harlow police, she and her husband suffered mental breakdowns because of police harassment. It Took years to Kick him out ! The case against a young officer who assaulting a man, his mentor pressured the witnesses of the case not to attend Chelmsford to give evidence. robbery of an elderly woman in town centre caught on cctv clearly showing the face of the mugger that was reported to crime stoppers, he was never questioned!
K
2022-01-27 17:57:17
Omg 😱 we have had 7 car windows smashed out the back of my house 7 that I know about yet when I phone the council about the broken lights they tell me to ring the street lights I did today and then they tell me there is no light there well what the hell am I looking at then since the light broke last year crime rate has gone up they sit there selling drugs eating take aways and when finished throw the rubbish on the floor
David Forman
2022-01-27 18:08:50
I thought it would be useful to compare Essex and Nottinghamshire regarding rape and sexual offence cases. The Essex force has 2.96 officers per 1000 people and in Nottinghamshire it is 2.95. The PFCC for Nottinghamshire produced a report on 2 November 2021. It says on page 7: "Between 01/04/2021 and 17/10/2021 the force has achieved 63 Positive Outcomes for Rape (10% recorded crime) and 222 Positive Outcomes for Sexual Offences (11.6% recorded crime)." See the Nottinghamshire report at: https://www.nottinghamshire.pcc.police.uk/About-Us/03-Nottinghamshire-Police-Public-Protection-and-Safeguarding-Report.pdf How can Essex Police justify ZERO solved rape cases?
Kevin
2022-01-27 18:12:01
Resent van burglary where £4000 worth of tools stolen, mate given incident number told it won't be investigated, case closed. Now if it comes to kicking a motorist totally different - no confidence in them
Harlow Resident
2022-01-27 19:27:22
Now If you look at speeding fines issued in Harlow you will see where the effort is placed.
David Forman
2022-01-28 02:01:04
In the Essex Police area, during the whole of 2021, there were 2019 rape cases reported relating to over persons over 16 years of age. Just 31 cases were solved, which returned a solved rate of 1.5%. The solved rate for 2020 was 2.6%, which means Essex Police is failing rape victims.
Stephen Brilus
2022-01-28 10:32:25
I cannot believe for a moment that the regular council tax increases for Essex police that have been made over the years has got much to do with solving crimes. It's more likely to ensure that their pensions and early retirement schemes are well funded.
Fairy2
2022-01-29 10:31:20
The police need to listen to the people, every crime is devasting to the person it has happened to, not the ones they choose to be less important. They should look at this report, and act on it, need more visible presence, to listen. Recruit more, make sure when they have finished their training, that is the person you want on your force, shadow them, encouragement goes a long way,make sure their creditionals are scrutinized. I think we have lost respect, because of the crimes the police have committed, listen to your force, if they are unhappy with someone's behaviour, look into it, if not could be another crime stastic. Police do have a dangerous role now, but keeping yourselves safe is also important.
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