National crime recording standard update

Report: 7
Date: 11 September 2008
By:  Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing on behalf of the Commissioner

Summary

The Home Office yearly crime data audit plan commenced in 2002 with the Audit Commission (AC) as lead auditor. It has now completed its fourth and final audit under the plan. Over those years the MPS performance for compliance in crime recording has moved from being considered poor to good and is now considered to be fair, with its data considered to be ‘satisfactory’ and ‘fit for purpose’. This report provides information about the improvements made to date and outlines the Data Quality Improvement Programme that has been created to respond to the Audit Commission recommendations and those identified areas for improvement following the MPA Scrutiny into Crime Recording.

A. Recommendation

That Members note the report

B. Supporting information

Improvements made since last update

1. Governance - The governance arrangements surrounding the recording of both crime and incidents have been reviewed. A more strategic decision-making forum that encompasses both crime and incident recording, the Strategic Crime and Incident Recording Group (SCIRG), has replaced the Crime Recording Oversight Group (CROG). This strategic group is now supported by two separate working groups; the Crime and Incident Recording Oversight Group dealing with NCRS related issues, and the NSIR Improvement Group dealing with issues related to the recording of incidents rather than crimes.

2. Data Quality Improvement Programme (DQIP) - The previous NCRS Action Plan, together with the areas for improvement identified as a result of the MPA Scrutiny into Crime recording in the MPS, and the product of the NSIR Implementation Programme have now been amalgamated into the Data Quality Improvement Programme (DQIP). This provides a more cohesive approach to ensuring that data quality is embedded as part of our daily business and increases the coordination of cross business-group activity. Each strand has an identified a senior lead and progress against the programme is a standing agenda item at SCIRG.

3. NCRS - The MPS Data Accuracy Team (DAT) has developed a suite of NCRS audits to examine the pinch-point decisions made during the crime recording decision-making process. The first of these looked at ‘CAD-to-CRIS’ compliance, i.e. if an incident was opened on CAD with a crime code, systems were examined to see if a crime was subsequently recorded, and if not, was this supported by a legitimate rationale. Over the first quarter of the performance year, there has been a trend improvement regarding Investigation 1 from 69% (Poor) in May to 83% in June (fair)

4. NSIR - The National Standard for Incident Recording (NSIR) has provided another opportunity to identify those areas where crime-recording performance can be improved. To ensure the correct application of the NSIR standard, the DAT have developed an auditing regime. The MPS has only adopted the Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) part of the standard at present although MPS Management Board has decided to introduce the remaining three elements (Transport, Public Safety & Welfare and Administration). Auditing of the ASB incident records has revealed a number of crime recording concerns relating to processes and practices, which are now being addressed. Current NSIR (ASB) compliance is 78% although the trend illustrates improving performance.

5. The current NSIR audit regime ensures that each BOCU is inspected once in a period of two months auditing a sample of 80 Anti Social Behaviour (ASB) incidents. The MPS is currently graded as ‘poor’ and therefore cannot expect to receive less frequent visits from NPIA. With the delivery of changes to CAD, CHS, DARIS & METMIS – to deliver linked management information, it will be possible to build an automated audit programme that can automatically check data in real time or within a 24 hour period - working from point of receipt of contact to closure of CHS/CAD/CRIS records etc. This will provide an efficient and improved means of enhancing the intrinsic quality of MPS data, by enabling the identification of good practice and service failure in the full context of policing delivery. It will enable a comprehensive analysis and risk assessment of MPS data, and areas of non-compliance will be routinely identified and actioned in support of MPS priorities.

6. The National Police Improvement Agency (NPIA) has recently examined MPS policies and practices in relation to NSIR. They have reviewed NSIR/NCRS compliance and have held a number of interviews with both managers and practitioners. Their report is due in September 2008.

7. Peer Reviews - A system of Peer Reviews has been successfully piloted and will now be rolled out across the MPS in September 2008. These will take place every six months (February/March and September/October) and will examine each BOCU’s compliance with both NCRS and Home Office Counting Rules (HOCR) in relation to detections. Each strand will take approximately two days for two members of staff and each BOCU will be audited by another BOCU to provide independence and objectivity. Each review will examine 120 CRIS reports and 40 CAD/CHS incidents to consider NCRS compliance and 115 Sanction Detections to consider HOCR compliance in relation to both evidential and procedural sustainability. Those BOCUs that achieve ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ grades in both will be exempt from the next round of reviews. The process will be overseen by TP Crime Management Unit, with DAT providing quality assurance to the results of the reviews. Any incident/crime ‘failing’ will be subject to DAT intervention, recording further crimes and/or deleting detections as appropriate. Within 2 weeks of the results being published, each BOCU is required to produce an action plan describing improvement activity coordinated and overseen by the ACPO Link Commanders.

8. Risk Register - The risk of a failure to improve crime and incident data quality together with associated consequences is now the subject of a specific TP Risk Register and action plan. The owner of the risk is Commander Organisational Capability & Criminal Justice Reform (OC&CJR). Change and progress is regularly monitored and reviewed as a standing agenda item at SCIRG and at TP Command Team.

9. Qualitative v quantitative Performance - Measures of crime and incident data contained within existing MPS performance information are largely quantitative. In order to ensure the MPS successfully deliver against these indicators and are capable of underpinning this performance with sustainable data quality, work is underway to introduce qualitative judgements of the data into the performance information. These will focus on APACS Tier 1 and 2 crimes and will be published in the TP Scorecard. The affect of such measures will emphasise the need to consider both quantity and quality, and once established, to provide a qualitative commentary on those targets that rely upon volume, e.g. Sanction Detections.

Issues effecting progress

10. Changes to Definitions - As a result of changes to Home Office crime definitions and counting rules, specific crime categories will show an increase in the number of offences recorded. This means it is very likely that the level of recorded GBH, Gun Crime and Knife Crime will increase. The MPS has estimated that the potential increase could be a rise in recorded GBH of approximately 58%, a rise in Gun Crime of approximately 20% and a rise in Knife Crime of approximately 15%. As this performance year will be used as a ‘baseline’ in relation to next year’s targets it is important the crime is recorded in line with the revised definition. If crimes are under-recorded this year crime reduction targets set for the MPS next year will be unachievable.

11. Most Serious Violence - Home Office guidance on the boundary between serious assaults such as Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH), and less serious assaults such as ABH will increase the number of crimes counted under the definition of MSV.

12. Gun Crime - The use of CS and Pepper Sprays was removed from the definition of Gun Crime from 1 April 2008. Further indicators have been added to include whether possession of a gun by a suspect was ‘intimated’ or not, and if it was intimated whether or not the victim was convinced of that possession.

13. Knife Crime - The group of offences to which Knife Crime applies has changed. The definition now includes other implements that should be included as a knife or a sharp instrument. Other changes to the definition are similar to those introduced in relation to gun crime, i.e. whether or not possession was ‘intimated’ and whether or not the victim was convinced of that possession.

14. Data Correction - A plan has been agreed for Boroughs to correct their MSV data for the period 1 April to date to ensure all crimes are classified correctly. The MPS Data Accuracy Team (DAT) will supervise this process. The MPS Performance Information Bureau (PIB) are reviewing Gun Crime and Knife Crime information on the Crime information Recording System (CRIS) to make sure that Gun and Knife crimes are correctly identified. In respect of knife crime, work is being undertaken to provide comparative data for 07/08–08/09 as well as baseline for 09/10.

15. Communication - It is important that the issues relating to the changes in how crimes are recorded crimes are properly understood and communicated both internally and externally. In particular, that definitional changes are the reason for significant apparent increases in certain types of crime. Serious concerns have been raised with the Home Office in respect of the implication of the definitional changes as the focus of police activity and public confidence.

16. PURE Assessment - The first report into the Police Use of Resources (PURE) will be published in November 2008. The PURE assessment enables auditors to form judgements on the Police Authority and Force arrangements to secure effective use of resources across the five themes of financial reporting, financial management, financial standing, internal control and value for money.

17. Centralised crime recording - Most Forces have centralised crime recording, which can assist consistent application of NCRS. Territorial Policing (Emerald) has responsibility for the MPS crime recording policy and is currently evaluating the potential benefits of centralising the functions of Crime Management Unit (CMUs) and Telephone Investigation Units (TIBs) on the West link. This work has yet to be fully scoped.

Green Paper - Neighbourhood to the National: Policing our Communities Together.

18. Four forces are currently undertaking a pilot to reduce bureaucracy in the context of crime recording (West Midlands / Surrey / Staffordshire / Leicestershire). It is worthy of note that NCRS is NOT being relaxed.

19. The decision in the Green Paper not to review the Notifiable Offences List (NOL) is noted. In the light of the outcome of the pilot, and full implication of NSIR, the MPS will examine opportunities to apply a more proportionate approach to crime recording, taking into account victim satisfaction and the importance of accurate information for analysis, problem solving and tasking.

20. Chapter 1 of the Green Paper focuses on ‘Improving the connection between the public and the police’. This includes the Policing Pledge, responsiveness and Neighbourhood Policing. This has implications right the way through the continuum of contact. The NPIA are in the final throes of examining MPS call handling and NSIR compliance and their report is due at the beginning of September 2008.

Funding for future NCRS/NSIR Audits

21. The Home Office has stated that they will no longer fund crime data audits, it is anticipated that the Audit Commission may still continue, when examining forces, to carry out some auditing of crime data although this may be subsumed into the PURE assessments referred to above.

22. The NSIR project that was being managed within the Home Office has moved to the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA). It is possible that the NPIA may at some stage take on responsibility for crime data audits due to its role in promoting improvements in policing and the acknowledged benefits in integrating incident and crime recording.

Acronyms and Abbreviations:

AC

Audit Commission

ASB

Anti Social Behaviour

CMUs

Crime Management Unit

CRIS

Crime information Recording System

CROG

Crime Recording Oversight Group

DAT

Data Accuracy Team

DQIP

Data Quality Improvement Programme

HOCR

Home Office Counting Rules

NPIA

National Police Improvement Agency

NSIR

National Standard for Incident Recording)

NOL

Notifiable Offences List

PIB

Performance Information Bureau

PURE

Police Use of Resources

SCIRG

Strategic Crime and Incident Recording Group),

TIBs

Telephone Investigation Units

C. Race and equality impact

The MPS recognises that there is under-reporting of crime from disadvantaged groups and that any perceived barriers to the reporting of crime may have a disproportionate effect. Removal of potential barriers through NCRS/HOCR compliance is therefore likely to have a positive impact on the recording of previously under- reported offences.

D. Financial implications

All costs will be met from existing MPS budgets. In relation to the Peer Reviews, there are a number of opportunity costs, each strand will take approximately two days for two members of staff and each BOCU (a total of 256 days - 32 BOCUs @ eight days each) will be audited by another BOCU to provide independence and objectivity. TP CMU manages this activity at a cost of 20 days, plus quality assurance by DAT at 16 days. In total, this amounts to an opportunity cost of 272 days.

E. Background papers

None

F. Contact details

Report author(s): DCS Peter Barron - Performance OCU, MPS

For more information contact:

MPA general: 020 7202 0202
Media enquiries: 020 7202 0217/18

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