17 police forces 'failed to identify vulnerable callers'

Some 17 police constabularies in England and Wales have such a disinterested mindset towards some crimes they "failed to identify vulnerable callers", a watchdog has found.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) found:

• A total of 37 out of 43 forces in England and Wales used a system in which a call-handler assessed whether an officer should attend the scene of an incident.
• But in some forces, call-handlers could not accurately describe what amounted to a risk or threat.
• Attendance rates at crime scenes in the year to November 30 2013 varied widely between forces from 39% in Warwickshire to 100% in Cleveland.
• This means that nearly two-thirds of crime scenes in Warwickshire were not attended by a police officer.
• And in 17 forces, the Inspectorate found police community support officers (PCSOs) were being asked to investigate crimes beyond their role profile and training.