Police are failing to record more than 800,000 crimes reported by the public each year, including a quarter of all sex crimes, a damning report has revealed.
The report, a result of an extensive inquiry led by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said the failure to record such crimes was "indefensible".
The police watchdog found that victims of crime were being let down as offenders who should be being pursued by the police are not being brought to justice.
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The 26 per cent under-recording of sexual offences is "a matter of especially serious concern", said Tom Winsor, the chief inspector of constabulary.
"These are wholly unacceptable failings," he said. "It is particularly important that in cases as serious as rape, these shortcomings are put right as a matter of the greatest urgency." He conceded that this did not apply to all forces, as many have "exemplary records" in this respect.
"There are indications that some forces are improving," said the BBC's home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw. "But there's also a warning in the report that increasing workload pressures among police - who are having to do more with considerably less - will 'sharpen' the incentive not to record crimes."
The report also found that even when crimes were recorded correctly, many were later classified as "no-crimes" because police officers did not believe they had taken place. In some cases, the victims were not even informed of the decision.
The inquiry will also raise further concerns about police attitudes to rape victims. In several cases, the watchdog found that officers did not believe an offence had been committed. Winsor said that the presumption that the victim was telling the truth should be institutionalised across the police force.
"If evidence later comes to light which shows that no crime occurred then the record should be corrected: that is how the system is supposed to work".
