Do we need a clear‐up rate?

Police clear‐up rates are published annually for each police force, and high values are often commended and thought to give an indication of the efficiency of the police. However this is misleading for several reasons. It has been shown that rates are inflated, in some forces, by the police questioning convicted and unconvicted prisoners ('prison visits'). It is contended here that these clear‐up rates in the present form should not be published, as comparisons between forces are invidious. Primary clear‐up rates (based on cautions and charges only) enable more valid comparisons to be made. However, these relate to suspects rather than offenders. It is suggested here that the ratio of offenders to recorded offences is a more consistent measure, but no single measure can be satisfactory unless there is a linkage between offence and court proceedings data.

Key words:

• Clear‐up rates
• police effectiveness
• prison visits
• conviction rates
• criminal statistics
• offender rates
• performance indicators