Police force targets 'put crime figures before the victims'

Ex-detective slams Home Secretary over plans to bring back league tables

- BY JON AUSTIN

A FORMER senior detective has blasted the Home Secretary’s plan to reintroduce performance targets for police because they shift the focus from solving crimes to accountancy.

David McKelvey, a retired Detective Chief Inspector with the Metropolitan Police, said targets were scrapped after police chiefs focused too much on bringing crime figures down by “fiddling” them.

And he fears Shabana Mahmood’s pledge to reintroduce league tables, and to name and shame poorly performing forces, will damage the service again.

The shakeup also includes the creation of a National Police Service as Britain’s version of the FBI. This would also see 43 police forces slimmed down to as few as 12 regional “mega forces” to focus on neighbourhood crimes like burglary and shoplifting, which will be set national targets on crime clear-up rates, emergency response times, victim satisfaction and public confidence.

Results will be put on a public dashboard allowing comparisons.