Police cash fails to raise clear-up rate

More money spent on policing does not result in better clear-up rates for crime, according to an Audit Commission survey. It also found widening gaps between the best and the worst forces in terms of detection of crime and public visibility.

The commission's annual report on the police and fire services, published today, shows that the cost of the police per head of population has risen to ?115, and the number of officers available for ordinary duty per 1,000 people is 2.2. But there are large variations between the 43 forces in England and Wales.

Andrew Foster, controller of the commission, said yesterday: "The public has a right to expect increased spending will lead to improved performance." Paul Boateng, minister for the Home Office, said that it remained a concern that there was still no direct correlation between increased spending and improved performance. He called for better targeting of resources in forces which "should do better".

Of the four forces which received the highest percentage budget increases (Durham, South Wales, South Yorkshire and Cheshire) only South Yorkshire improved its detection-per-officer rate. The survey shows that detection rates per officer vary from 16 in Gwent, 13 in Northamptonshire and 12.2 in Bedfordshire, to 6.4 in Surrey and 6.5 in Hertfordshire. The percentage of time spent in contact with the public varies from 79 per cent in Durham to 41 per cent in Hertfordshire.

There are many reasons for the variations: for instance, rural forces do not face the same problems as metropolitan ones, and can thus afford to deploy more officers or achieve higher clear-up rates. The different circumstances are illustrated in the figures for violent crimes per 1,000 of population: Humberside has 139; Nottinghamshire 118, and West Yorkshire 115; Dyfed Powys has 35, Surrey 48, and Suffolk 52. However, the survey shows that, even when these variations are taken into account, some forces appear to perform significantly better than others.

Clear-up rates for all crimes average 26 per cent, and 77 per cent for violent crime. Primary detection rates (as opposed to secondary rates, where suspects confess to other unsolved crimes) also vary greatly: Gwent has 16 per officer annually, Northamptonshire 13, and Bedfordshire 12.2 - compared to 6.4 for Surrey, and 6.5 for Humberside. The report notes it is sometimes thought that having more officers is the way to increase the proportion of crime cleared up. "This does not automatically happen," it concludes. "In some forces there were increases in the number of officers per 1,000 of population but the percentage of crimes solved either stayed the same or fell."

Expenditure on police per head of population has increased from ?108 to ?115 in four years, adjusted for inflation. Fire services costs ?26. The report notes crime fell in four years by 15 per cent and burglary by 30 per cent.

Local Authority Performance Indicators: Police and Fire Services, 1997/98. Audit Commission publications, freephone 0800 502030, ?20