[Natural News]: A U.K. government watchdog has pointed out that British police forces have avoided apprehending criminals during the ongoing pandemic. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said in a report that officers have been writing off various offenses “with no further action.”
The report warned that the reduced focus on crime could have a negative impact on victims and trust in law enforcement.
According to the HMICFRS report commissioned by Home Secretary Priti Patel, officers have been offering a partly “reduced service” for actual crimes due to their focus on COVID-19 lockdown violations. It noted that police officers are now more likely to close a case without even meeting victims because of this. Even worse, some crime reports have been dropped at the first opportunity because of the existing lockdowns.
The 74-page report titled, “Policing in the Pandemic” also noted a few examples of law enforcement refusing to pursue “any outstanding investigations that could result in arrest.” Some cases involved wanted criminals remaining on the loose due to officers failing to chase up arrest warrants. Other cases involved sex offenders being supervised less – which puts vulnerable victims at greater risk.
The HMICFRS inspectors noted in the report that changes brought about by the pandemic “resulted in a reduced service in some areas of police work.” During this time, many people resorted to reporting crimes online instead of over the telephone – but some victims had to wait for two hours before a response. “Routine requests for service were more likely to receive a remote response … rather than a police officer or [staff member] attending,” the findings said....<<Read The Full Article Here>>>>....
