Process of reporting crime

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.24.039366

I note you seek access to the following information:

Please provide the complete process of reporting a crime to a constable of the Metropolitan Police on the streets of London together with any exemptions to this process which are codified in law.

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I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Please provide the complete process of reporting a crime to a constable of the Metropolitan Police on the streets of London together with any exemptions to this process which are codified in law.

To report a crime and have it recorded on police indices (the MPS use the CONNECT system) an allegation of crime must be made to police. The main ways this can occur in London are: in person to an officer after approaching them, in person to an officer after they have been deployed after phoning 999/101, in person via a Public Access Officer at the front desk of a police station, over the telephone to the Telephone Digital Investigation Unit, online via the National Single Online Home portal, if an offence that occurred in London is reported outside the Capital, it will be recorded locally and then sent to the MPS for investigation.

The MPS has a Crime Recording and Outcome Policy which is underpinned by the Home Office Counting Rules. This stipulates that when police receive an allegation of crime, it must be recorded at the earliest, practicable opportunity, even if there is an initial lack of proof to support the allegation. This MPS takes a victim focused approach to crime recording, to ensure those coming forward to report crimes will be treated with empathy and their allegations taken seriously. Police, therefore, “will believe a victim such that we record the crime allegation. From that point we will investigate impartially and with an open mind to establish the facts” (MPS Crime Recording and Outcome Policy). Therefore, when someone alleges a crime, details of the victim(s), any suspects, particulars of the incident, any facts about witnesses, CCTV or forensics will be taken by police. The victim may be asked to give a statement at the point of reporting or contacted for this at a later point in time.

These details will be recorded on the CONNECT system and the report supervised, risk assessed and a decision made about whether there are any reasonable lines of enquiry to pursue to bring any offenders to justice. If there are none, for example there were no named suspects, no witnesses, no CCTV footage to review, and no forensics to establish the identity of a suspect, the investigation may be closed with no viable leads. If there are reasonable lines of enquiry to explore, any investigation which follows is then taken forward with an open mind to establish the facts, and “the role of an investigator is to gather all relevant evidence which either proves or disproves a person’s involvement in an alleged offence” (MPS General Investigation Policy).

** There are caveats to this; where credible evidence exists that negates the allegation that a crime actually occurred, an officer can make auditable record of the decision and justification as to why they will not be recording a crime. For instance, if an allegation is made that the reporting officer knows not to be true by the presence of contemporary facts, they may decide not to record a crime, but must justify why a crime will not be recorded and inform the victim of this.