Kent Police solves unacceptably low number of crimes, inspectors find

Kent Police must improve the quality of its investigations and how it responds to the public, a watchdog says

The number of crimes solved by Kent Police is "unacceptably low", according to a report by inspectors.

The force was told by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) that it must improve at investigating crime and responding to the public.

But it was rated good in six categories, including preventing crime and disrupting serious organised crime.

Kent Police said it was already improving services for vulnerable witnesses and answering calls faster.

Inspectors said they were pleased with the force's performance and the steps it had taken to improve since the previous report, including improving the quality of its investigations.

But the report said: "These improvements haven't yet resulted in more positive outcomes for victims".

Kent Police was praised for innovative ideas such as the use of emotional support dogs for vulnerable victims, and HMIC highlighted the work of Kent's domestic abuse hub in more than tripling the rate at which non-emergency domestic abuse calls were responded to.

Areas for improvement

But in the year to the end of March 2023, the report said 33.4% of calls to the non-emergency 101 number went unanswered because of a shortage of call handlers, compared to the average of 5% for forces with a switchboard.

Kent Police does not have a switchboard, but uses a system which sees callers put straight through to a call handler, rather than making them wait to be spoken to.

Deputy Chief Constable Peter Ayling said: "We acknowledge there are areas where improvements could be made and are being made.

"We are increasing the number of officers dedicated to investigating domestic abuse including in cases where victims sometimes feel unable to come forward, and these changes and other improvements are pushing our charge and solved rates even higher.

"We recognise any wait of more than a few seconds can be distressing for the person on the other end of the line when they want to get in touch with us and we have enhanced our capacity to answer calls as promptly and efficiently as possible."

Matthew Scott, Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner, said: "I acknowledge there is still some work to do to improve outcomes for victims of crime.

"I continue to hold the force to account for delivering their responsibilities under the Victims Code, getting the right outcomes and bringing offenders to justice."

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