Too much Red Tape says Police Chief.

Sandie Seward · Too much Red Tape says Police Chief.

Police are spending too much time recording crime and not enough in tackling it, the Government's chief inspector of constabulary warned today.

In a report to ministers, Sir Ronnie Flanagan said officers were too bogged down in bureaucracy and too scared of criticism to do their jobs effectively.

He also claimed forces across the country had a tendency to "over-record and under-deliver" because they were afraid of missing something, and he called for sweeping cuts to red tape to improve police performance.

Sir Ronnie's report, which was welcomed by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, follows persistent complaints from the public that police claims that crime is falling - based on official statistics - do not reflect people's experience on the streets.

It also appears to back up concerns that police are often unavailable to respond swiftly to crimes because too many officers are tied up with paperwork.

In his report, Sir Ronnie blames such problems on a culture of excessive caution, inadequately strong leadership and too much bureaucracy, and calls for a "cultural change" within forces.

"A more risk-averse society has led to a more risk-averse police service, which at times will over-record and under-deliver for fear of missing something or being vulnerable to criticism," he says.

"We risk diverting officers' priorities to recording crime rather than getting them out on the streets solving them and preventing them.

"There are a number of areas where improvements can be made to ensure a fully effective and modern police service."

Among a list of recommendations, Sir Ronnie, a former Northern Ireland police chief, calls for are:

• A nationwide drive by police chiefs to enable officers to "rediscover" their professional judgment and counter risk-aversion and fear of criticism.

• More use of technology and "virtual courts" to give officers more time for crime-fighting.

• The creation of standardised forms for recording crime to eliminate excess paperwork.

• An expansion of neighbourhood policing to ensure officers focus more on public priorities in their area.

• A national debate on what is recorded as crime to ensure that officers do not waste time.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith welcomed the report and said action to implement his recommendations would follow.

"Sir Ronnie's report sets out some clear steps to cut red tape and make the job of every police officer more effective in the fight against crime," she said.

"Sir Ronnie has identified several measures through which we can cut bureaucracy. Just from his proposal on case file management, we could save 400,000 hours of police time - that is the equivalent of 200 officers. I accept these recommendations."

Although his report is likely to be welcomed by rank and file officers, many police will point out that government edicts, such as those requiring all stop and searches to be recorded, lie behind much of the increased paperwork in recent years.

Similarly, the increasing complexity of documentation required for court cases has led to officers being forced to devote more time to bureaucracy, as have Home Office targets for improving the number of crimes detected and solved.

Critics believe these targets have encouraged officers to focus on recording large numbers of minor crimes, which can be easy to "clear up", to boost detection rates.

There are also continuing complaints about the police failure to respond rapidly, because officers are tied up with other duties.

One example was an incident this week when a bus driver in Lewisham pulled up outside the local police station after two passengers were spotted smoking crack, only to be told that there were no officers available to arrest the men, who promptly fled.